Detention Buddies
by Californiapoppy5
Summary: Aspiring musician, Gabriella Montez, lands herself in the detention a couple weeks into her senior year. She connects with Troy Bolton, a boy she grew up with but never really knew. They find courage in each other to break out of their norms and fight for their ideal senior year. With big changes around the corner, will they venture in to something more or stay detention buddies?
1. Chapter 1

**Detention Buddies**

Gabriella Montez wasn't the most popular girl at East High, but she was pretty close. She went to all the cool parties, had all the hot boyfriends, and did all the things that the cool kids got to do. She was always different from them. She had actual dreams. Her life wasn't about smoking pot and getting drunk like the rest of her friends. She got excellent grades, was the senior class vice-president, and she was always busy with something.

She had a lot on her plate. Her parents wanted her to go to Stanford but she wanted to go to Julliard. She just wanted to make music, write music and sing music. She wasn't completely bat-shit crazy when it came to stardom like her best frienemy Sharpay Evans. She just wanted to sing.

Gabriella took piano lessons since she was three and dance since she was two. She bought herself vocal lessons for her twelfth birthday. She came from a wealthier family, living in The Ridge. The Ridge was a small elite community of no more than twenty houses in the Mountains of East Albuquerque. About ten houses lived grumpy old rich people who get pissed off and call the cops when there's a high school party in The Ridge. The rest were families; The Montez family being one of them.

The Montez family wasn't very close for the most part. Richard, the father, was always away on business. Maria, the mother, focused on being a Desperate Housewife of Albuquerque rather than a mother. Gabriella was the oldest of three at eighteen. Camilla was the middle child at thirteen, desperate to be like Gabriella but getting old enough to resent her for being 'too perfect.' Lastly was the baby, Mariella, spoiled rotten and only eight years old.

Rose was the housekeeper and Gabriella's best friend. They'd grown close the past fourteen years, since she was originally hired on as Gabriella's nanny. At fourteen, when things started getting rough for Gabriella with periods and puberty, Rose was right by her side. Gabriella saw her in more of a best friend or cool aunt type but still being the voice of motherly reason when needed. Gabriella sought her out often, especially when it came to the birds, the bees, the boys and the booze.

School had started about three weeks ago and Gabriella found herself landing the first detention of the year. What did she do? Her cell phone went off in class. Her idiot boyfriend called her in the middle of homeroom. She had two after school detentions to look forward to. One for the cell phone and one for calling Ms. Darbus a 'spineless theatrical tyrant.'

Gabriella honestly couldn't help it. She's been trying out for shows since freshman year. Darbus has given all the leads to that bitch Sharpay Evans, even the ones across from her twin brother Ryan. Is that fucked up or what? She thought Sharpay was a hell of an actress, though. Gabriella didn't know if she could practically make out with her own twin. She had to draw a line somewhere, even if it was 'just acting.' It looked like this year wouldn't be any different, especially since she got two detentions a month into school.

She found herself dragging her feet to Mrs. Darbus' classroom after she collected what she needed from her locker. The day had been so long already and she didn't want to listen to Ms. Darbus for the third time today. She knew she should have taken Woodshop instead of Advanced Drama 3. She set her stuff down in her usual seat and slumped in her chair.

"Welcome to after school Detention. I hope you don't make a habit of it." Ms. Darbus projected to the five kids in the classroom. She was the only girl, go figure. Gabriella rolled her eyes and propped her chin on her fist. "After I have a small discussing with each one of you, you are expected to do homework. I know you all have homework."

"Ms. Darbus, when do we get out? I gotta go to basketball practice." Jason Cross said. She inwardly groaned. Jason was an idiot for asking that question, now Darbus is going to rant on and on about nothing.

"Well Mr. Cross, if you hadn't fallen asleep in class then you would be able to get to basketball practice on time. My suggestion to you is when you leave from basketball practice, eat a healthy dinner and go to sleep at a decent time. Don't play video games until the early morning hours." Darbus said. "Moving on."

"You still-"

"Just shut up." The boy sitting next to him said. Gabriella recognized him as Troy Bolton. He in homeroom with her, but she didn't remember him getting a detention.

Darbus gave Troy Bolton a pointed look and moved past Troy to Tucker Matthews. He looked scared shitless as he was about to get the wrath of Darbus. Though Gabriella was curious to know what Tucker was in for but she had better things to do, like homework. She pulled out her books and started on her homework.

About thirty minutes into their detention, Ms. Darbus had to leave quickly for a bathroom break. The once quiet room was now buzzing with chatter. Desks were moving and Gabriella lost her concentration. Somebody sat down in front of her.

"Hey."

"I'm busy." Gabriella said, not bothering to look up.

"What are you in for?"

Gabriella sighed, looking up. Troy Bolton was the nosy one apparently. He must have been really bored because they've never even glanced each others way. "Cell phone." She said, bored. She looked down at her papers.

"Darbus hates cell phones, that sucks." Troy said. "What are you doing? Trig? Yuck. Satan made math in the dark pit of hell."

"Are you flirting with me? I have a boyfriend." She said getting annoyed.

Troy laughed in her face. "No, I was not flirting. I know you have a boyfriend. Owen Jacobs right? I'm going to vote him in for Biggest Tool Bag at the end of the year for senior favorites."

"You don't even know him." Gabriella said, rolling her eyes.

"He's my like my third cousin. Humor me." Troy said with a roll of his eyes.

She looked up and narrowed her eyes. "I don't believe you."

Troy shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me if you do or not, I was just enlightening you with some family history."

"Look, I have to do homework-" The room went silent again as Ms. Darbus walked to her desk. There was some whispering on the other side of the room Darbus didn't seem to mind.

"I'll probably vote you in for Biggest Sucker if you last all year with him." Troy whispered with a small smirk.

Gabriella glared at him. "Aren't you supposed to like your family?"

"No." He said with a small smirk. "I definitely don't… Do you like all of your family?"

She sighed. "Shut up."

"I was just saying." Troy said with a shrug.

She let out an annoyed sigh and closed her book. "Ms. Darbus."

Darbus looked up at her. "What Ms. Montez?"

"Can I do my homework in the music room next door? I need complete silence."

She sighed. "Fine. I'll check on you every so often."

"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. I have so much homework to do." Gabriella said, packing her things. She stood up and walked out the door. Down the hall was her favorite room in the whole school. The music room. She stepped inside and smiled, finally some peace and quiet.

She took a seat on the piano bench and started her homework again from there. She was finished quickly with her homework. She packed it neatly in her backpack and looked at the piano in front of her. She lifted the lid on it and her eyes found the sheet music that laid on the piano. It was from the choir, she would know she took advanced choir as one of her electives.

She started playing. Her fingers brushing gently over the keys. She hummed along to the classic song. _"And can you feel the love tonight."_ She sang quietly. It was the original version, not The Lion King version as everyone hoped. She didn't mind, she just liked to sing. She heard the door open behind her and stopped playing. She turned around. "Oh, it's just you." She murmured, turning back towards the piano.

"What's wrong with me?" Troy asked, closing the door behind him. He walked into the room and took a seat next to her. "Hm, I've never been in here."

"Shocking."

"I always see you so peppy. I never thought you were this grumpy in real life." Troy said, leaning his elbow on the piano making a loud noise. Both of them winced. Gabriella shut the cover over the keys and Troy rest his elbow on the top.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "This is all real life. Ms. Darbus let you out?"

"I didn't have detention so she didn't have a problem with it." Troy said.

She furrowed her eyebrows. "What? Then why were you in there?"

"It's a long boring story." Troy said, elongating his adjectives. "I wanna know why you're so grumpy."

She leaned against her forearms, looking over at him. "I got detention for one." She murmured.

"Big deal. It's just detention. You'd probably go home and do your homework right away anyway." He said with a shrug.

"I guess but I'd rather be home."

"Touché." Troy said, narrowing his eyes at her.

She sat up again. "Don't you have basketball practice or something?"

"Quit." He said simply.

"Why?" She asked. She was just so confused by this guy.

Troy shrugged. "I didn't want to play anymore. Coach Bolton is a prick."

"Wait, isn't Coach Bolton your dad?" Gabriella asked, confused. Troy just smirked. "Point taken."

"That is true. I guess I more got kicked off and quit at the same time." He said.

She groaned in frustration. "You can't even get your story straight. Why should I believe you?"

Troy shrugged. "You can if you want."

"You're so annoying." She exasperated. "No wonder you got kicked off the basketball team." She lifted the cover of the piano up, knocking his elbow off. She took a deep breath before she played a song she'd memorized when she was little. It was a song she was playing for a recital, it got great reviews. He started ruining the music by pressing random keys. "Do you mind?" She asked, stopping her moving fingers.

"Nope. I was just playing along." He said, shrugging.

"Fine, then I won't play."

"What do you want to do then?" Troy asked, turning his body to her, giving him her full attention.

"We can sit here quietly until I have to go home."

"Or we could make out?" He suggested. She opened her mouth to protest but he put his lips on her before she could get a word out.

After she got over the shock, she pushed him away as hard as she could. "Dude!" She shrieked. "What the fuck!" Troy just shrugged with a smug smile on his face. "I have a boyfriend… who's your cousin!"

"Third cousin." Troy corrected.

"It doesn't matter!" She yelled. Her chocolate eyes were blazing with fury.

Troy's smirk fell a little. "So does that mean you don't want to make out? Or?"

"Of course I don't!" She said, pushing his chest again. "God!"

"That's too bad. Your lips were as soft as I imagined them to be." He said softly. She stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded. Troy got up. "Well I'll see you around I guess." He walked out the door without even looking back.

She frowned all of a sudden, looking at the door as if he was going to come back in. She turned back around toward the piano and started playing a soft melody. The door opened again. She turned around quickly to see if it was him. "You can go home now. I'll see you tomorrow Ms. Montez." Ms. Darbus said.

"Okay." She breathed out. She collected her stuff. "I'll see you tomorrow Ms. Darbus." She put her backpack on, fishing out her keys from the pocket of her jeans.

Gabriella shook her head to herself as she walked out of the building. She walked to her car. She saw someone smoking out of the corner of her eye. She saw Troy, leaning against a truck in the teachers parking lot. He smirked when their eyes connected. She just shook her head again, getting into her car.

She turned up her radio and sighed. She drove up towards The Ridge. It took a good fifteen minutes just to drive to school every day. She cursed her parents for living in some stupid gated community so far away from school. She pressed the gate opener and drove inside then she parked in the drive way. It was like a whole other world up here. She hated The Ridge. She couldn't wait to live anywhere else.

She grabbed her things and walked inside, heading straight for her room. Dad was never home and her mom was constantly on the phone. Camilla was doing whatever in her room and Mariella was always looking for someone to play with. Gabriella gladly drove around her little sisters, especially to get them out of her hair and out of the house.

She lie on her bed and touched her lips. A fire started to burn in her belly. She was pissed off thinking about his audacity to kiss her. God, she wanted to punch him. Part of her wanted to kiss him again. She frowned at that random thought. She had Owen of course. She didn't love Owen. Owen wasn't capable of loving her back. It was all just politics and sex.

Owen Jacobs wasn't the best boyfriend, not that she expected him to be. She always had a boyfriend. She couldn't remember a time where she didn't have a boyfriend for more than three weeks. She frowned at the thought. Maybe she needed to be single for the end of the school year and the beginning of college. How long would that last? Probably not long, she mused.

She rolled her eyes, thinking back to Troy's kiss again. She hoped he wouldn't be there for detention after school tomorrow. She didn't want to face him after he assaulted her with his mouth. She wanted to hit him for that soft lips comment too. She just found him so annoying, yet she wanted to get to know him better. It was a foreign feeling Gabriella definitely wasn't used to.

* * *

She didn't remember what time she fell asleep but all she knew was she that she was starving. She forgot to eat dinner last night due to falling asleep. She turned to her side and cursed. She was going to be late. She got up quickly jumping into the shower. She threw a dress on and some heels. She blew dry her hair the best she could and just threw it up into a ballerina bun. She put some light makeup on and rushed out the door.

"Gabi, we're going to be late!" Camilla cried when Gabriella walked past her with her back pack.

"Get your shit and let's go." Gabriella snapped. "Mariella!"

"Coming! Gosh!" Mariella said, moving her ponytail to the side.

"Get in the car and let's go." Gabriella said.

"Gabi, do you want some toast to go?" Rose asked.

"No time." She said, pushing her sisters out the door. "Thanks anyway." She said with a small smile. She closed the door behind her. "Seatbelts!" She called out sliding into the car.

Gabriella drove Mariella to school first since she started the earliest. She headed across town to drop off Cami then pulled up at East High five minutes late. She parked in her designated parking spot and raced toward her locker. She stuffed everything in.

"Hey baby." She felt arms wrap around her.

"Hi Owen, can't talk. I'm late." She said, shutting her locker.

"You can't even pause to give me a kiss?" He asked with a smirk.

Gabriella gave him a small smile but shook her head. "Sorry honey."

He pouted cutely. "Come on baby. Just one peck."

Gabriella smiled, rolling her eyes. She gave in, giving him a quick peck on the lips. He deepened the kiss after she tried to pull away. She felt his tongue on her lips. She used all the strength she had and pushed him back. "Owen! I have to go! Darbus is going to kill me!" She gave him a peck and backed away from him. "I'll see you around, okay?"

"Later." Owen said with a slight wave of his hand.

Gabriella rushed to homeroom and to her seat with an embarrassed blush since all eyes were on her. "Sorry Ms. D." She said, pulling out her things.

"Ah, Ms. Montez, nice of you to join us. You've decided to be quite the trouble maker this year. I'll see you for after school detention… for the rest of the week." Ms. Darbus said cooly.

Gabriella closed her eyes, putting her head in her hands. "You've got to be fucking kidding me." She breathed out louder than she intended.

"Do you want to make it a month, Ms. Montez?" Ms. Darbus asked.

She blushed when she realized she'd been heard. "No." She said quietly.

"Then I suggest you keep your comments to yourself." Ms. Darbus said, turning back to the board. "Back to what we were talking about: the Winter Musical. It'd been quite some time since we'd had a musical. We are doing…. Cabaret!" She said excitedly.

Sharpay Evans squealed next to Gabriella, causing her to jump slightly. "When are auditions? I am going to make a great Sandy Bowles."

"Auditions are this week at free period. If you need an audition song, we have some sheet music for those who need it. You'll have to see me during free period or here after school." Darbus said. "I am looking forward to seeing you all at auditions for some extra credit." She said with a small smirk. "For any other information you can talk to me or come to a drama club meeting it is held Thursdays at lunch."

The bell rang and everybody got up. Gabriella sat in her seat while everybody rushed to get out. She put her things away and walked towards the door. She looked to her left. Troy Bolton was still at his desk. He was watching her with a small smirk on his face. She sighed to herself and walked out the door. She headed to her first class of the day. Trig.

* * *

 **Hey y'all. Remember me? I know it's been forever and I don't expect to be forgiven but it's been a crazy couple of months. I moved back to California from Arizona. I worked but now i'm currently looking for a job. I'm baby sitting and driving every body around. I've been writing and trying to write throughout. I just went to disney and now i'm back. Hopefully, i'll land the summer job i had last year but i'm not too sure how that's going to go. I hope you all have been well. I missed you guys and i miss writing. Hopefully i'll get back into it when i read all of your lovely comments. Don't forget to review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Gabriella's stomach was rumbling when she walked into detention. She was busy with student council and didn't eat lunch on top of the breakfast and the dinner she didn't eat last night. She felt like she was going to pass out. She made it to her desk and put her head down. She closed her eyes, sitting up slowly. She looked around. There was one other person in the class besides Troy, Gabriella, and Ms. Darbus.

"Welcome to after school detention. Get started on your homework and I will come around." Ms. Darbus said distractedly.

The room was quiet, her stomach grumbled again. She frowned, wrapping her arms around herself to hopefully keep the noise down. She reluctantly pulled out her homework. She dropped her trig book on her desk with a loud thud.

"Hey." She heard Troy said. She didn't even notice him sit in the desk in front of her.

"Troy, don't bother Ms. Montez until she finishes her homework. Please do yours." Darbus said.

"Come on Ms. D. I was just asking her a question." Troy said.

"One question then go back to your seat." Darbus said.

Troy nodded then turned back to Gabriella. He opened his mouth to ask her a question. He was cut off by another loud protest from her stomach. She blushed, putting her hands on her stomach. "Pepperoni or cheese?"

"What?" She asked confused.

"Pizza." He said simply. "Do you have a preference?"

"Cheese." She said quietly. "Why?"

Troy just winked at her. He got up. Gabriella watched him as he walked over to Ms. Darbus. They argued quietly for a minute. Her eyes followed Troy until he walked out the door. She frowned, wondering what he was up to. She decided to focus on her homework and not worry about him.

After she finished her Trig she pulled out her Spanish homework. She was about half way through when she smelled it. Pizza. Hot pizza. Her mouth started watering and her stomach grumbled loudly again. The door opened and Troy walked in with two pizzas. She turned back to her homework and fought to not stare at the pizza.

She held her breath when she heard somebody walk over to her. She looked up to see Troy holding a box and a plate. "Pizza?" He offered. She raised her eyebrow at him. He opened the box. "I got cheese."

"She let you leave and get pizza?" Gabriella asked.

"I bargained. I have to try out for that stupid musical." Troy said with a shrug.

"All that for pizza?" She asked, smirking.

Troy smiled. "Yeah. Your growling stomach was annoying me also. I saw you didn't eat lunch either."

"Were you spying on me?" She asked, trying to hide her smile. Troy just shrugged. "I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday. I passed out before dinner and woke up late." She said with a dejected sigh. "I'd love some pizza actually. Thank you."

Troy grinned. "You're nice when you're hungry."

"Don't bite the hand that feeds you." She said, putting her homework away for now. She took the plate and loaded it up with two pieces.

"That's it?" He asked. She rolled her eyes and grabbed another piece. He rolled his eyes back at her and put another piece on her plate before closing the box. She opened her mouth to protest. "I watched you scarf down a cheeseburger in less than two minutes in the fifth grade. Four pieces of pizza is nothing."

She scowled at him. She put a piece in her mouth to bite back the comments she was about to say. Her body felt better now that she was eating. She ate the first piece quickly, too hungry to savor it. She stuffed the second piece into her mouth, taking a big bite. She chewed carefully before looking up. She noticed Troy watching her. She narrowed her eyes at him. He grinned widely, putting a piece into his mouth.

She forced herself not to look over in his direction. She ate her pizza silently, getting up to throw her plate away. She asked Ms. Darbus if she could use the restroom. She slipped out of the classroom and washed her hands in the bathroom.

Troy Bolton was a strange boy, Gabriella thought as she took her time walking back to the classroom. She hummed to herself as she passed the music room. She felt an arm pull her into the room. She resisted the urge to scream and swung her arms instead.

"OW!" The deep voice said. Troy Bolton had let go of her arm and covered his eye.

"Why would you do that?!" Gabriella asked, taking a step back from him.

He rubbed his eye. "It was supposed to be spontaneous and sexy not a boxing match."

"What are you even doing in here?" She whispered before she turned around. "Wait, I don't even care. Look, I have to get back or else I'm getting detention for the month."

Troy sighed, blinking his eye dramatically. "You are so boring, Montez."

"Shut up." She rolled her eyes. She pulled open the door.

"Wait!" He closed it, pinning her against the door. He kissed her lips slowly before pulling away. "Think about me." He murmured softly as he pulled the door open for her.

She blinked at him. "Stop doing that!" She sighed, frustrated and ran to the next door.

Gabriella made her way back to her seat with an annoyed expression. She pulled out the rest of her homework and finished it within a half hour. She hadn't noticed Troy come back in or the fact that he sat next to her until she was finished. She put all her stuff away and picked up her bag.

"Darbus?" She asked softly, walking up to her desk.

"Yes, Miss Montez." She asked without bothering to look up.

"Can I go next door to work on my audition song for Cabaret?"

Darbus nodded enthusiastically. Gabriella made a quick exit and slid herself in front of the piano. She stroked the keys with her fingers as she played a melody that her fingers created. She hummed along to the melody until words started forming. She smiled to herself as she stopped to get out her notebook.

Creating something out of a couple of notes was her favorite part of music. She enjoyed writing lyrics and putting them to melodies. Some of her best songs just come to her organically. Her fingers slid across the keys to find the tune she just wrote. She scribbled in her notebook before putting the pen in her mouth and continuing.

Gabriella got lost in the world of her music, she played the song once through and stopped when she heard the door opening. "You know it's like five o clock, right?" Troy Bolton asked, sticking his head into room.

"Shit!" Gabriella muttered. "Why didn't anyone come and get me?" She asked, shoving her notebook into her bag.

"I thought Darbus would, but she forgot about you." Troy said, making a face.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Why are you still here then?"

"I'm waiting for Coach Bolton." Troy said with a shrug. "Then I saw your car still here and I thought I'd come find you and save you."

She let out a short laugh. "Save me from what?"

"My cousin." He smirked. "Or Darbus. I don't know."

"Why do you call your dad Coach Bolton?" She asked, slinging her backpack across her shoulder.

"I stopped calling him dad when I was seven. I guess I got used to it. He's been in full coach mode for the last eleven years." Troy murmured, holding the door open for her.

"Does your mom get annoyed that you call him that?" She asked, walking toward him.

He shrugged. "She doesn't really notice. My dad, on the other hand, insists. He is everywhere. He's at home. He's at school. I'm so fucking sick and tired of him."

"At least you see your dad. I haven't seen mine in weeks… I saw my mom for about an hour in the last week." Gabriella said with a shrug.

"That must be great." Troy said, stepping in front of her.

"Not when you have two bratty younger sisters that you have to be adult for." She said, taking a step to the left to move around him. He stepped in front of her. They did that little dance for a good minute before she groaned in frustration. "Troy! Stop!"

His face softened. "I'm sorry." He said as he moved out of her way.

She stepped out of the classroom then stopped in the middle of the hall. "For what?" She asked, looking back at him, waiting for him to join her.

"About your parents." He took three big steps to catch up with her. "Since I quit basketball, Coach Bolton hasn't said a word to me. He's just there."

"Why'd you quit anyway?"

He shrugged. "I hate basketball."

"Why do you come to Ms. Darbus' detention every day after school?" She asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Why are you so nosy?" He teased.

"You seem hell bent on destroying my relationship with your cousin. I might as well find out why." She walked with him into the parking lot.

Troy rolled his eyes. "I couldn't care less about Owen."

"Then what is your problem with me?" She asked, pulling her keys out and standing in front of the driver door.

"I have absolutely no problem with you, Gabriella Montez." He said, taking a step away from her.

"Are you bored? I don't get it, Troy."

"Bolton, Let's go." A loud voice boomed over the parking lot.

Troy turned around to see coach standing by the truck. "Well, I'll see you in detention tomorrow, Montez."

"Answer me, Bolton!" She shouted, grabbing his arm as he turned to leave.

He turned to face her with a smirk on his face. He pressed a kiss to the corner of her lips. "Tomorrow." He winked, before he jogged over to the truck.

Gabriella groaned loud enough to cause Troy to look back. She wanted to murder him, smack him and kick him in the genitals all at the same time. She got in her car and sped out of the driveway. She got stuck in traffic on her way to The Ridge, causing her annoyance to grow.

She parked her car and walked inside. "Gabi, you're late." Her mother said, with her arms crossed. "We have to be at a dinner at the Evan's estate in forty five minutes!"

"I told you yesterday that I had detention today. I have it for the rest of the week." She said, walking around her mother.

"I don't care, Gabriella. You have thirty minutes to get ready."

She continued her journey up the stairs and into her room. She put her hair up before she put on a dress. She slid heels on her feet before she took a seat to relax. Her mind seemed so full of things to remember she just forgot everything. Her mind was blank. She couldn't even figure out what day it was. The stress was getting to her and she had to figure out how to relax.

She definitely wasn't ready to face Sharpay. Sharpay only talked about theatre and when it wasn't theatre it's singing, dancing or how she made out with Gabriella's current boyfriend. It never failed. Gabriella wondered what it was this time. Gabriella didn't doubt it had something to do with Owen. Maybe it was time to dump him and move on.

Gabriella made her way down stairs to where her mother was waiting. "Well?" Gabriella asked, stepping down.

Her mother made a face. "Not that dress honey, the white one, come on Gabriella."

She groaned and stomped back up the stairs. "Why do I even try?" She asked out loud. She closed her door and pulled out the white dress she was sure her mother wanted her to wear. She slid it on her body and changed her heels.

The house was too quiet. Why did she have to go and not her sisters? She walked across the hall to Camilla's room. "Why aren't you going?" Gabriella asked, as she poked her head into the room.

"I'm sick." Camilla said in a fake, sick voice. "Mari has a book report and you know mom can't go by herself." Cami said with a smirk.

Gabriella groaned. "You suck, Camilla!"

"Sorry." Cami said with a shrug. "I hate that dress."

Gabi rolled her eyes. "Me too. Mom insisted."

"She needs a hobby that is not being a neurotic housewife." Cami said with a snort.

"Seriously." Gabi agreed. "I'll see you later."

"Have fun." Cami said with a laugh.

Gabi flipped her off as she closed the door. "Gabriella!" Her mother called from down stairs.

"I'm coming!" She yelled. "Jesus, save me." She murmured under her breath. She walked down the stairs.

"Aw! Honey, you look beautiful!" Her mother enthused.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Can we go now?"

"Of course." Her mother tossed Gabriella her car keys. "You're driving."

She sighed. "Great."

Gabriella pulled up to the Evan's estate. She parked in their usual spot, getting out. Her mother met her at the door. "Remember honey, be polite-"

"And smile." Gabriella finished, rolling her eyes. "I know."

"Stop with that eye rolling, it's tacky- Hello Derby!" Her mother greeted Mrs. Evans with a stiff hug and an air kiss to each cheek.

"Maria! I'm so glad you can join us! You brought Gabriella, my princess was hoping you would. Sharpay is upstairs, dear."

"Thank you Mrs. Evans." Gabriella said with a polite smile. She walked into the mansion and found her way up the stairs. The last time she was here was when Sharpay threw a party. She drank too much. Her and Owen hooked up in the master bathroom. It was an interesting night and that was for sure.

"Gabi!" Sharpay shrilled from down the hall. "Oh my god! We have so much to catch up on!"

Gabriella nodded. "I'm sure we do."

Sharpay pulled Gabriella into her pink room. "First thing is first, aren't you just excited about Cabaret? It's going to be an amazing show! I love that it's a little risqué!"

Gabriella took a seat on the plush chair that was next to the bed. "Mhm, I'm really excited." Gabriella said half-heartedly. She studied her nails as Sharpay droned on about the show. Gabriella's eyelids started to droop but she shook out of it.

"Darbus told me Troy Bolton is auditioning too. I think he'll be a great Cliff Bradshaw. Ryan is trying to be the emcee but I guess we'll see about that. What are you auditioning for?"

Gabriella blinked a couple times, realizing that Sharpay had asked her a question. "Um, I'm not sure, Sally maybe or Fraulien Schenider."

"We should get Owen to audition!"

Gabi laughed. "Yeah, right. You'd have to do a lot more than make out with him to get him on stage."

"Exactly! That's where you come in." Sharpay urged.

"No, Thank you. If you want him in the show, you do it." Gabriella said rolling her eyes.

"He's your boyfriend."

"So." Gabriella said, pushing her hair away from her face. "That doesn't mean you haven't done anything with him."

Sharpay gasped. "I haven't done anything with Owen! Well… except for the time we made out in my room, but that was like the second day you started dating. That was in the past!"

Gabriella laughed, shaking her head. "You know what, Sharpay?"

"What?" Sharpay asked wearily.

"Thank you! Thank you for weeding out the losers, I appreciate it." Gabriella said, pulling out her cell phone.

"What? What are you doing?"

Gabriella searched through her contacts before calling her so called boyfriend and waiting for him to pick up. "Hey, baby." Owens deep voice came over the line.

"Hey Owen." Gabriella said, looking over at Sharpay. "What's up?"

"Ah, nothing. I miss you baby. What's up with you?"

"Nothing. I'm here, hanging out with Sharpay. Our parents are having some stupid dinner thing." Gabriella said, leaning back in the chair.

"Oh yeah, how's Evans?"

"She's fine, ya know? Talking about the show, how you hooked up, about our parents… the usual." Gabriella shrugged.

"Oh, that's cool. Wait! What? Hooked up?"

"Yep. I don't like cheaters, Owen. Even if it happened the second day we were together."

"Babe, come on."

"No, I'm not going to come on, Owen. I deserve better than that. Don't call me, I don't want to go out with you. Don't kiss me at school. Don't talk to me. I'll see you around, Owen." Gabriella said, hanging up.

Sharpay shifted uncomfortably. "That was harsh."

She shrugged, "It had to be done. So what are we having for dinner?"

"Thai food, I think." Sharpay shrugged. "So what should I wear to school tomorrow? My pink dress or my super cute pink pants?"

Gabriella shrugged her shoulders. "Pants I guess."

Gabriella's mind wandered off. She thought about Troy Bolton and his obsession with her. She had to admit he was cute. He bought her pizza without even asking. He was sweet, but they're all sweet at the beginning. She assumed if she dated him within a month he'd be sleeping with Sharpay. He'd get bored with her. They always do.

On the other hand, he sure can kiss. She might keep him around just for some fun. Maybe until she goes off to New York. She couldn't wait to be in New York. She didn't care if she was living in a crappy apartment. She just wanted freedom from her mothers condescendence and her fathers neglect. She felt back for leaving her sisters but there was nothing she could do about.

"Gabi!" Sharpay said, waving her hand in front of her face. "Mother just said dinner was ready? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm just spacing out." Gabi said, shaking her head. "Ready?"

"Ready." Sharpay said, standing up.

"Let's go endure another stuffy, boring dinner."

Sharpay joked, laughing. "Shoot me now." She locked arms with Gabriella as they made their way down the hallway.

"Seriously." Gabriella agreed, walking down to the formal dining room.

* * *

 **Hey, guys! Happy Monday and happy memorial day. I just want to shout out all the fallen soldiers and their families. My thoughts and prayers are with them on this day of remembrance. I hope you guys are liking the new story. Tell me what you think by leaving a review! Thank you always for reading!**


	3. Almost

"Can't we just talk about this?" Owen asked as soon as he found Gabriella as she walked into the school.

"No, Owen. I said I don't want to talk about it. What's done is done."

"Baby, please. I love you." Owen begged.

Gabriella laughed, stopping in her tracks. "No, Owen, you don't. Just leave me alone." She held up her hand as soon as he started to reply. She walked over to her locker and opened it, grabbing her first books for the day.

She walked into homeroom early, taking her seat. She pulled out her mirror and her chapstick. She smoothed the stick across her lips before putting them both back in her backpack. She looked forward to see Troy sitting in the seat in front of her with a big grin on his face. "What?" She asked, blinking at him.

"Did I just witness you breaking up with Owen?" Troy asked with a smirk.

"No." Gabriella said slowly. "I dumped him last night."

"How come?"

Gabriella smirked. "Who is the nosy one now?"

Troy laughed. "Come on, Gabriella. Tell me."

"Because he hooked up with Sharpay." Gabriella explained with an eye roll.

"Blondie? Isn't she like your best friend?"

Gabi shrugged. "Sometimes."

"Aren't you mad at her?"

"Nah. I was going to break up with him anyway." Gabriella said, waving her hand. "Besides, it hasn't been the first time this happened."

"And you're okay with that?"

Gabriella nodded. "I know if someone really, really wanted to be with me, then they would tell Sharpay to go fuck herself."

Troy smiled and opened his mouth to say something. Ms Darbus walked in, cutting him off. "Alright class, find your seats and we can get started."

"I'll see you in detention." He said with a wink and a smile. He got up and found his seat.

"Tomorrow, at free period, we are going to do an audition song workshop! If you are planning to audition for Cabaret, I suggest you attend." Darbus drabbled on until free period finished.

Gabriella gathered her things and walked out the door. She walked into Trig and took a double take at Coach Bolton who was sitting where Mrs. Benson should be. She took her seat wearily. Coach Bolton looked up and glanced around the classroom. As soon as he saw Gabriella his eyes narrowed. She looked down immediately, busying herself by opening her backpack and pulling out her things.

Trig was awkward and boring. Coach Bolton wasn't the greatest math substitute so they must have been understaffed. The bell rang and everyone got up, turning in their class work. Gabriella was one of the last to get up. She placed her paper on the top of the stack.

"Miss Montez, correct?" Coach Bolton asked.

She nodded. "Gabriella."

"Right, Gabriella, could I speak with you after school?"

"I have detention after school… all week, Coach." Gabriella said, swallowing thickly.

Coach nodded. "Right. Maybe we could have a little talk right now?"

"I have to get to class…" She said pointing out the door.

"I will write you a note." Coach Bolton said. "You don't have to sit down. It will be quick."

"Okay." Gabriella said wearily.

"I need your help." Coach Bolton said. "I figured you can help me with Troy since you're his girlfriend."

Gabriella sat up. "I'm not his girlfriend, Coach."

Coach leaned back on the desk. "Oh, well, you two seem sort-of close. He talks to you more than he talks to me, I'm sure." Gabriella shrugged. "Well anyways, I need you to help me get Troy back on the basketball team."

Gabriella opened her mouth to talk. "Um, Coach Bolton, what if he doesn't want to play basketball?"

"I need you to make him want to play. It is what's best for him and his future. If you care about him, I need you to do this for me." Coach Bolton pleaded. "Please."

Gabriella swallowed again. "Okay, I'm not promising anything, but I will try."

"Thank you, Miss Montez." Coach Bolton scribbled a late pass for her.

She nodded. "Thanks." She took the note before rushing out of the classroom. She found her next class and took a seat after giving the teacher her note.

Gabriella avoided Troy all day, trying to think of what to tell him during detention. She knew she couldn't avoid him then. She found it hard to focus on her school work. She wanted to just take a seat in front of the piano in the choir room. She wanted to write her soul out in place of the 8 hours she wasted in the classroom. She was itching to put her feelings down onto paper.

She stepped into after school detention and pulled out her homework. She got started before Ms. Darbus even walked in. She had a light homework load today. She felt someone sit behind her. "Gabriella." Troy's voice whispered from behind her. "Where were you today? I checked all of your usual places, you weren't there?"

Gabriella shrugged, not turning around. She scribbled answered down on her Spanish worksheet. "Welcome to det- oh." Ms. Darbus stopped. "Well, it looks like I just have you, Miss Montez."

Gabriella looked up and looked around the empty classroom. She looked up at Ms. Darbus. "I'm doing Spanish homework."

Darbus nodded. "Good, well since it's just you, I can work on the show and prep the theatre. Troy , you can help me."

"I have homework too, Ms. Darbus." Troy said, holding up his Algebra textbook. "I was wondering if after Gabriella was done, she could help me with my math. I'm trying to raise my grades, for college."

"Very well then." Darbus said. "I'll finish my paperwork then I will go work on the theatre. I expect you both to behave when I'm gone."

"Of course, Ms. D. Gabriella wouldn't want to disappoint." Troy said. "I hear they're trying to make her valedictorian."

Darbus smiled. "That's great Miss Montez, good luck to you. I'll be right back."

Ms. Darbus walked out of the room before Gabriella turned around to face Troy. "You're an idiot. They don't pick valedictorian until the end of the year."

Troy shrugged. "It worked, didn't it? I seriously need help with Algebra though."

"Well when I'm finished, I'll help you." Gabriella said turning around.

"Why did you avoid me today?" Troy asked from behind her.

"I didn't."

"You have a routine and I've memorized it."

"That's not creepy." Gabriella retorted.

"Whatever. You always have the same spots you go to and you were in none of them today." Troy continued.

"Maybe I felt like switching it up a bit. Why do you care?" Gabriella asked.

"I thought we could hang out in somewhere other than detention." Troy said, playing with a piece of her hair.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "I have friends Troy."

"I know you do." Troy said, sighing. "I don't, at least not since I quit the team."

"Well, get back on the team and get your friends back." She said simply.

Troy laughed. "Yeah, right."

"I'm serious Troy."

"I don't think you remember me telling you yesterday that I hate basketball."

Gabriella turned around. "Look, your father subbed my Trig class this morning. He told me to convince you to join the basketball team again. So just do it, Troy."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Troy asked, his face reddening with anger.

"Troy-" Gabriella watched as he got up and walked quickly to the door. "Where are you going?" She asked, getting up and following him. "Troy, it's not that big of a deal." She said, following him down the hall.

"Not a big deal" He repeated sarcastically. He pushed open the gym doors. "Coach." He bellowed, interrupting practice.

"What, Bolton?" Coach asked after he dropped the whistle from his mouth.

"I need to talk to you."

"Go ahead." Coach said, crossing his arms.

Gabriella opened the door slightly, sticking her head in to listen. "I am not coming back to the stupid basketball team, no matter who you try to get to convince me. I hate basketball. I've hated it since you've become my coach. I hated waking up every fucking day and going to school just because I'd have to see you everywhere. I'd have to see you and then after school I'd have stupid fucking basketball practice."

"You need to watch your language, son."

"I'm not your son!"Troy yelled back. "I'm your former basketball player, Coach." He spat out. "Don't talk to me. Don't stay to give me a ride home. Don't even look at me at home. I cannot wait to go to college to get the fuck away from you!"

"Troy-"

"No! I don't want to fucking hear it." Troy turned to walk back towards the doors. He stopped turning around again. "And don't talk to the only friend I have to get me to join the team. I hate basketball and I hate you, coach."

Gabriella moved away from the doors just before Troy came storming through. She followed him quietly back to detention. He took his seat and took a deep, calming breath. Gabriella took her seat and glanced back at him before she finished her homework.

Detention was eerily silent as she put away her books. She still had an hour and a half left. She turned around and looked at Troy who had his face in his hands. "Troy?" She asked quietly. "Still need help with Algebra?"

He wiped his face, looking over at her. "Yes, please." He said shortly. She got up and grabbed a loose chair and took a seat next to his desk. He asked her a couple questions and she clarified the answers. In no time, he was doing his homework on his own with no problem. She sat next to him, studying him as he did his homework.

Troy finished his last problem and closed his book. He glanced over at her. "What?" He asked softly.

She shifted uncomfortably after getting caught. "You told me yesterday, you were going to tell me why you keep kissing me."

Troy smirked. "I was hoping you'd forget about that."

She shook her head. "Nope, I want to know."

He smiled, looking at his book. He decided to put it away before answering her. "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

Gabriella laughed. "You're kidding me, right? No way."

"I don't either." Troy said with a laugh. "What about fate?"

She thought for a moment. "I'm not completely sold on fate."

Troy nodded. "Me either."

"Are you going to tell me, or not?"

"Yes, Gabriella, gosh, you're so pushy." Gabriella rolled her eyes. "I've been infatuated with you since last spring."

She looked at him confused. "Why?"

"Junior year, we had an assembly. You were junior class president so you had to speak. You were talking about bullying, do you remember?"

Gabriella shrugged. "Vaguely."

"The middle schools from the district came and you talked. While you were talking, I realized that I was so upset that you cut your hair."

"What?"

"Then I realized I have never spoken a single word to you so I shouldn't be upset that you cut your hair."

"What are you talking about TB?"

"Then after that, I realized that Coach Bolton had way too much control of my life. I needed to get out of his grasp. It was hard at first because a little part of me still wanted to make him proud. I remember last summer, we went to Lava springs for some function that my parents were invited to by Sharpay's, I think. You were there and you were wearing a white dress."

Gabriella groaned. "I hate that white dress."

Troy smiled. "You said that to Sharpay. I was sitting right behind you both. I kept thinking you were this perfect little student and this perfect little person. Throughout the night, I'd hear you make smart little remarks that made me laugh the whole time. It actually made it enjoyable, you know? It encouraged me to pursue my freedom. So that night, I stood up to Coach Bolton and I quit the basketball team. As a punishment, I'd have to sit with Ms. Darbus every afternoon until I wanted to join the basketball team again."

Gabriella laughed. "I'm surprised you're not back already."

"Me too. She's not half bad, Ms. Darbus. Annoying, yes, but I've learned to tune her out." Troy said with a shrug.

"That doesn't answer why you keep kissing me."

"I kiss you because I want to. I'd kiss you all day if I could. It's a gesture of lust and appreciation." Troy said with a smile. "Now, since you have no boyfriend, you can stop lying to yourself and enjoy it too."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "You're so full of it, TB."

"You should be more thankful to me. Detention would be very boring without me here." Troy said, pushing a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"It would be." Gabriella agreed. "I'm going to go to the choir room."

"Can I join you?"

"Nope, you have to stay here and finish your homework. Tell Ms. Darbus to get actually get me today when detention is over." Gabriella said, grabbing her things.

"Oh, come on." Troy complained.

"You have to get your grades up to get out of here, TB." Gabriella said with a shrug. "That's why I've been working my ass off for the last 6 years." She leaned down, kissing his lips slowly. "Thanks for taking one for the team TB."

Troy sat back, dumbfounded, as he watched her walk out the door. He looked down at his desk before he slumped down to pull the rest of his homework from his backpack. Gabriella smiled proudly as she took a seat in front of the piano. She touched the first key and her fingers got carried away. They formed melodies that she hadn't even thought of yet.

She took her time, remembering the keys that she tapped and the lyrics she sang in her head before she got the chance to write them down. She stopped playing, pulling out her notebook and scribbling as much as she could remember.

A knock sounded from the door and she turned to look back. "How's the song going?" Ms. Darbus asked from the door.

"Great. I just need to tweak a few things." She said with a small smile.

"Good, Mr. Bolton is going to join you and you are going to let yourself out at 4:45." Ms. Darbus said. "Understood?" She asked, glancing back at Troy.

"Yes, Miss Darbus." Gabriella said, looking over at Troy.

"Then I'll see you tomorrow." Darbus said, nodding at both of us before turning to leave.

Troy closed the door behind him. "Wow. Never thought in a million years she'd trust me enough to dismiss myself from detention."

"You're not in detention." Gabriella reminded him. She moved over giving him room on the piano bench.

"You're always at the piano." He observed.

Gabriella nodded. "I'm obsessed. I like to write songs. I want to go to New York for school."

"New York? Wow."

She smiled. "My mother wants me to go to Stanford because my dad went there."

"That sucks." Troy said, leaning on the piano. "What else do you want to do with your life?"

"I just want to be my own person. I don't want to go to anymore dress up parties. I want my mother to be a mother and not a socialite. I want my dad to be home at least once a week. I don't want my sisters to be raised by the nanny." Gabriella said, sighing. "I'm tired, Troy. I just want to be happy."

"You're not happy?" He asked, studying her.

"Not particularly." She said with a sigh. "What about you? What are your plans for the future?"

Troy shrugged. "I have no idea. I just want to get away. Like you said, I want to be my own person." Troy said with a small smile. "I have no idea where, though."

"You'll figure it out, I'm sure." She said, pressing a key gently.

"Play a song for me." He said, sitting up.

"No way."

"You want to move across the country but you're scared to play a song in front of me?" He asked, amused.

"I'm not scared."

"I'm not going to laugh at you. I just want to hear." Troy said, watching her.

Gabriella sighed. "Fine."

"And I want you to sing."

"Fine, TB. No laughing."

"Promise." He said with a small smile.

She cleared her throat before she hesitantly started playing.

 _"I'd like to say we gave it a try._  
 _I'd like to blame it all on life._  
 _Maybe we just weren't right,_  
 _But that's a lie, That's a lie._

 _And we can deny it as much as we want_  
 _But in time, our feelings will show._  
 _Cause sooner or later, we'll wonder why we gave up_  
 _The truth is everyone knows_

 _Almost, Almost is never enough_  
 _So close to being in love._  
 _If I would have known that you wanted me_  
 _the way I wanted you_  
 _Then maybe we wouldn't be two worlds apart_  
 _But right here in each other's arms._  
 _And we almost, We almost knew what love was_  
 _But almost is never enough_

 _If I could change the world overnight_  
 _There'd be no such thing as goodbye_  
 _You'd be standing right where you were_  
 _And we'd get the chance we deserve._  
 _Try to deny it as much as you want_  
 _But in time our feelings would show_  
 _Cause sooner or later, we'll wonder why we gave up_  
 _The truth is everyone knows_

 _Almost, Almost is never enough_  
 _So close to being in love._  
 _If I would have known that you wanted me_  
 _the way I wanted you_  
 _maybe we wouldn't be two worlds apart_  
 _But right here in each other's arms._  
 _And we almost, We almost knew what love was_  
 _But almost is never enough_

 _Oh, Oh baby_  
 _Almost is never enough baby_  
 _And we can deny it as much as we want_  
 _But in time our feelings will show_  
 _Cause sooner or later well wonder why we gave up_  
 _Truth is everyone knows_

 _Almost, Almost is never enough_  
 _So close to being in love._  
 _If I would have known that you wanted me_  
 _the way I wanted you_  
 _Then maybe we wouldn't be two worlds apart_  
 _But right here in each other's arms._  
 _And we almost, We almost knew what love was_  
 _But almost is never enough"_

* * *

 **Happy June! Can you believe it's June, already? I surely can't. Time really does fly. Don't forget to review!**

 **Almost is Never Enough- Ariana Grande**


	4. Chapter 4

Gabriella hit the last key before she let out a breath. Troy wasn't laughing, which was good. She was still kind of afraid to look over at him. "Wow." He breathed out.

"What?" She asked, hesitantly looking over at him.

Troy stared at Gabriella before his eyes drifted down to her lips. He glanced back up to her eyes and her eyes were looking down at his lips. He leaned over, resting his hand on the bench in between them. He covered her lips with his. Her lips parted to let out another breath. She touched his cheek gently before dropping her hand. She gripped the side of his shirt as he deepened the kiss. His tongue flicked out of his mouth, making brief contact with hers. Her stomach fluttered as his lips parted again.

His hand rested on her knee, rubbing lightly with his thumb. Troy was the first to pull away. He pushed her hair behind her ear then brushed his thumb down her cheek. "Will you play me another song tomorrow?" He asked, dropping his hand from her cheek.

"We'll see." She said, with a small smile.

"What time is it?" He asked.

"Trying to get rid of me already?" She asked, teasingly as she pulled out her phone. "We have five minutes."

"Time flies." He noted. "I don't want to go home." He groaned, putting his head in his hands.

"Me neither, trust me."

"He is going to flip a shit." Troy said with a sigh. "Is it june yet?"

Gabriella laughed. "I wish. Only nine more months."

He groaned again. "God, help me."

"You'll be fine." She said, running her fingers though his hair.

"I can't believe Coach talked to you."

"He thought I was your girlfriend."

Troy groaned again. "That's even worse!"

Gabriella laughed. "And he made me late for class."

"I'm sorry."

"No worries, TB. It's not your fault." Gabriella closed the piano cover and gathered her things. She took her phone out, checking it.

"Let me see that." Troy said taking the phone out of her hands.

"Hey!" Gabriella said, pouting.

Troy did quick work entering his number into her phone then texting himself before he handed her the phone. "Here." He picked up his backpack.

She shoved her phone in her pocket. "Let's get out of here, TB." She said, adjusting her backpack.

He let her walk out first, keeping a hand on her backpack protectively. He walked with her to her car. "Which way do you live?" He asked, leaning against her car.

"I live in The Ridge, TB." She said, tossing her backpack into the backseat.

"Shit." Troy murmured.

"What?" She asked, turning around. She saw Coach Bolton walking towards a black car. "Where's the truck?"

"It needs a fuel pump." Troy said with a shrug.

"Bolton, let's go." Coach yelled, waving him over.

Troy shook his head. "I'm not riding in a car with him." He said, turning around to look at her. "I'll walk home if I have to."

"Looks like he isn't going to take no for an answer." Gabriella said, looking over at Coach Bolton. "He's coming."

"Fuck." Troy murmured.

"Troy, let's go, son."

"No, Coach, I meant what I said. I'm not riding in a car with you."

"You're being ridiculous Troy. Let's go, we're going to be late for dinner."

"You can leave but I'm not going with you." Troy said stubbornly.

Coach Bolton pinched the bridge of his nose. "Let's go Troy, Now."

"No."

"Fine, walk home then." Coach said, turning around and walking back to the car.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Troy said, leaning down, pressing a kiss to her lips.

She pressed her hand on his chest. "Let me take you home."

"Why? Do you care about me or something?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Yeah, or something." She pushed him away before getting in the drivers seat.

Troy got into the passengers seat, putting his backpack in his lap. "Nice car."

"It was my birthday present. Apparently neglect can be forgotten with a 50 thousand dollar car." She said with a shrug.

"I just got a shitty truck to look forward to, if my dad will ever let me drive it." Troy said with a sigh. "With the rate I'm going, I'll never drive myself anywhere."

"What if you talk to your mom?"

"That might work. I don't know." He said with a sigh. He leaned back and watched her as she drove out of the parking lot. "At the light turn right."

"Okay." She said, licking her lips. "Do you have any siblings?"

"Nope." Troy said with a sigh. "I wish."

"My sisters are crazy. Camilla is a diva. My little sister Mariella is just spoiled rotten. She's so sweet though. I feel bad because she has no one to play with. Cami is super smart, I feel like she's smarter than me sometimes and she's only like thirteen. Mari is only eight."

"I wish I had at least one sibling to fight with instead of Coach." Troy said with a shrug.

"You can have mine." Gabriella said with a laugh.

" A right here." Troy instructed, resting his hand on her knee.

She turned before glancing over at him. "What do you want to major in?"

Troy shrugged. "I'm still undecided."

"Well you've got time, where are you gonna apply?" She asked.

"I'm not completely sure. I've been looking at California as an option." He said with a shrug. "Maybe Southern California. UCLA would be nice…. Or San Diego, live right by the beach."

"Sounds awesome." Gabi said, glancing over at him.

"Turn here. It's the third house. See the truck?" Troy asked as they got to the stop sign.

"Yeah." Gabi acknowledged. She pulled up in front of his house and parked her car. "What about New York?"

Troy grinned over at her. "You keep saying things and I think it's because you like me."

Gabriella laughed. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"There's nothing wrong with liking me." He reasoned with a shrug.

"If you weren't so annoying, you'd be a good guy."

He shrugged again. "What can I say? I know how to get the attention I want from the people I want it from."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "You're dramatic and annoying but I wouldn't mind enduring detention if I got to spend it with you.

"Aw, Gabi, you're gonna make me cry." He pouted. "You're beautiful and I'm obsessed with you." He leaned over, kissing her cheek. "Thank you for the ride."

"Yeah, yeah. Get out of my car." She teased, pushing his shoulder lightly.

"I'm going to bring you lunch tomorrow." He said, brushing her hair from her shoulder to run his fingers along her neck. "So tomorrow, you better not avoid me, or you're not going to eat. I'm going to take you somewhere special."

Gabi sighed. "I guess I don't have a choice."

"You do." He ensured. "But I hope you choose to eat with me."

"Well I think about it." She said, looking over at him. "I'll see if it's something I feel like eating, then I'll decide."

"That's all I ask." Troy said, unbuckling himself. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yep." She said sitting back.

He opened the door but didn't get out yet. He leaned over puckering his lips. "A kiss to hold me over?"

Gabi laughed, leaning over pecking his lips. "You're a character TB."

"You like it." He winked. "Sweet dreams"

"Farewell, TB." She watched as he got out of the car and closed the door. He kissed his palm before pressing his hand against her window, leaving a smudge.

She rolled down the window. "You smudged my nice clean window, TB. You owe me a car wash." She yelled as he walked up to his door. Troy chuckled, turning around to blow her a kiss. She rolled her window back up and rolled her eyes. She made a u-turn, driving back towards The Ridge.

* * *

Gabriella decided on a dress to wear to school the next morning. She got up early enough to straighten her hair and actually eat breakfast. She didn't have to rush to take Cami and Mariella to school. She parked in her spot and grabbed her books. She even stopped to talk to some of her friends she hadn't got the chance to catch up with this year.

She saw Troy walking alone out of the corner of her eye. His head was down and his hood was on his head. She frowned as he didn't even glance up at her. He walked into homeroom. She excused herself from her friends and walked into homeroom.

He was covering his face with his hands. She fought with herself to get his attention. She reluctantly walked to her seat and sat down with a frown. She pulled out her phone, sending Troy a quick text asking if he was okay.

He replied with a short, 'fine.' He didn't even look back at her.

She text him again, reading 'We still on for lunch?'

He confirmed that they were as Ms. Darbus walked in. She put her phone away before Darbus started her drabble. She glanced over at Troy every couple of minutes to make sure he wasn't looking at her. He hadn't all period. She was kind of disappointed, especially after yesterday. She felt as if they got closer, maybe she was wrong. She sighed aloud as the bell rang. She gathered her things and walked out the door without bothering to look back at TB.

As soon as the lunch bell rang, Gabriella headed straight for her locker. She put her books away and closed the locker behind her. She walked towards her car like she always did. She always sat in her car for the first half of lunch, finishing up some homework or just sitting with the AC on.

She looked up from her phone as she walked out of the building. She stopped, a smile spreading across her face as she saw Troy standing next to her car with a small smile and a bucket. She bit her bottom lip as she approached him.

"You are such a stalker." She said with a laugh.

Troy shrugged. "I have nothing to say to defend myself against that statement."

"What are you doing out here?"

"You said I owed you a car wash, so I washed your car." He said simply with a shrug.

Gabriella sighed. "I don't know what to do with you TB." She told him adjusting her backpack.

"Ready for lunch, beautiful?"

She sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be." He held out his hand for her to hold. She stared at it for a moment before he shook it, signaling for her to hold it. "People are going to talk TB."

He smirked. "Why are you ashamed of me?"

"No." She said, slowly.

"I know my reputation hasn't been the greatest since I've quit the team..." He trailed off.

She slid his hand into hers. "I just want to prepare you for when the rumors circle back to Owen, he's going to be pissed."

Troy laughed. "I am not scared of him, that's for sure. He is not as tough as he looks."

"He's been a little sensitive since I dumped him." She said, playing with his fingers to make hers comfortable.

"Enough about him, let's go eat." He said with a mischevious grin. "Are you ready to run?"

"Am I ready for what?" She asked just before he took off running, dragging her behind him. She caught up with him, giggling as they ran through the hall getting weird looks. They ran up the stairs and to an empty hallway before Troy pushed open an emergency exit door. Once he pulled her in they stopped running.

She leaned against the door with her backpack still on her back. Troy stood in front of her as they both tried to catch their breath. He smiled, lifting up her chin to place a kiss on her lips. "Hungry?" He asked softly.

"Always." She murmured back, sliding her fingers back in between his.

He lead her up the stairs and onto the rooftop garden. "So this is your favorite hiding place?"

He shrugged. "Mostly in the winter. The science club mostly uses it during springtime or after school so lunch is my favorite time to come up here, if I'm not looking for you."

She rolled her eyes. "What's on the menu, TB?"

"You are in for a treat." He enthused. He pulled a basket from under the table. He played trumpet sounds with his mouth as he opened the basket. "I have Grapes, PB and J sandwiches, water, and the two greatest things god invented all in one: chocolate covered strawberries."

Gabriella smirked as her eyebrows rose. "I'm impressed TB. Who knew you could put together a picnic?"

"I'd have to say you're the only one." He grinned, handing her a sandwich. "Eat as much as you want."

"I will." She said taking a large bite of her sandwich. "How'd you get all of this up here anyway?" She asked, covering her mouth.

"I have two free periods."He said with a shrug. "The morning one was for extra practice but since I am not participating in basketball I use it like study hall… or use the spare key for whatever car my dad drives, go home and come back."

She shook her head. "You're just asking for trouble, TB."

He shrugged. "I've done everything I've supposed to do for three years. No girls, no drinking, no detention, no parties…nothing. I feel like I deserve to have some fun my senior year, do you agree?"

She thought about it. "I suppose."

"You were my first kiss." He said, taking a bite of his sandwich.

She choked on her bite before swallowing. "You're joking."

"Nope." He said, shaking his head. "I told you, no girls."

"Come on, you have to at least had one girlfriend or something."

"Nope, the only reason I would talk to girls is for group projects." He said with a shrug. "I couldn't really do anything because Coach was always around the corner. I don't really give a shit anymore."

She took the last bite of her sandwich before she studied him. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"You would really think I'd advertise my inexperience? You expect me to say I had sex with half of the cheerleading team and I gave a girl two orgasms in one night?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"All I have to say was that you were my first kiss. Hopefully, you'll be a lot more than that."

Gabriella laughed. "If you hadn't brought me chocolate, I might have slapped you for saying that. I don't know you, TB. But as we're getting to know each other, we can determine the status of the relationship we have." She said, reaching over for his hand.

"So, what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I've jumped into many relationships with too many guys. I like you, TB, I do but for once I'm going to take my time to ensure that I don't get hurt." She said, rubbing her fingers over his.

He smiled. "I'm fine with that. Take a much time as you need." He kissed her hand gently.

"Thank you." She plucked a grape from the bowl and popped it in her mouth. "I want to know why you were so antisocial this morning."

He sighed, dropping her hand. "Long story short, I got into a fight with Coach, mom got involved… I didn't have the best morning."

"I'm sorry." She said with a sigh. "I woke up early today. It was surreal."

He chuckled. "I imagine you're not a morning person."

She shook her head. "I go to bed early and wake up late. I love sleeping. If anybody wakes me up, they get a black eye."

Troy tossed his head back laughing. "That's great! I would be the asshole to wake you up."

"Then you'd be the asshole with the black eye." She said, picking up another grape.

"You're unlike anyone I've ever met and it's crazy that I've known you forever and we have never talked like this." He said, putting a grape in his mouth.

"We've never had any of the same friends. You've always been with Chad and Jason and whoever. I've basically been nobody."

Troy shook his head. "That's not true. You have always been so involved with everything since the beginning. You were always hall monitor or 6th grade class president. You were always the first to volunteer yourself to do anything."

"Yeah, everyone called me a teacher's pet. I just needed something to occupy my time. I never wanted to be at home. I still don't I hate going home, its more okay now since my sisters are there. It still sucks though."

Troy shrugged. "Well now, you have me."

"Now, we have detention. Next, we're going to have the play."

"Great, then we'll spend more time together." He reasoned with a shrug. She stared at him blankly. "Don't look at me like that. I've talked to you for three days and you're already my best friend."

"Seriously none of the basketball guys talk to you?" She asked.

"If they do, they try to get me back on the team." He murmured, grabbing a strawberry. "Want one?"

She opened her mouth and he fed it to her. "Mmm." She moaned. "I love chocolate."

He smirked, licking his lips before he ate the rest of it. "You are so beautiful." He wiped the juice off the corner of her mouth before licking his thumb.

"You just want to get me into bed." She said, taking a bite of another strawberry.

Troy's eyes widened. "I'm deathly afraid to get in bed with you." She slapped his arms, making a sound of offense with a mouth full of strawberry. "No! Not like that. It's just that I have no idea what I'm doing. I don't know how to… pleasure-"

"Okay. Enough. I get it." She said, holding her hand up.

"We could do stuff if you want… I mean… I'm not opposed to-"

"No, no. It's okay. We're friends remember?"

Troy laughed as his face turned red. "Yeah, right."

"We can still make out though. Making out is fun."

"Yes. Making out is good."

"I can't believe that I'm the first girl you've kissed." She said, putting a grape in her mouth.

"Let's not talk about that, anymore." He said, rubbing his chin. "It's kind of embarrassing."

She closed the lids on all the containers. "It's cute. At least I know you don't have any diseases."

"That is true." He pointed out, helping her put everything back into the basket.

"Can you bring this to detention so I can eat the rest of those strawberries?" She asked, scooting closer to him.

He nodded. "Sure. I don't know how warm they'll be."

"Just keep them in Darbus' class." She suggested.

"You're smart. It's like you're in all AP classes or something."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "You talk too much." She said, putting her finger over his lips.

"I do not." He mumbled with her finger covering his lips.

She removed her finger, replacing it with her lips. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. She licked his bottom lip gently causing him to part his lips. She ran her fingers through his hair, running her tongue across his. She nibbled on his lip gently before pushing him away.

"You do." She said with a small smirk.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

Gabriella was exhausted by the time detention rolled around. Today had been very busy. She woke up early. She had her lunch with Troy and about a fifteen minute long make-out session. On top of normal class, she had pre-auditions during free period. They went well and she was happy that Troy was there so Sharpay didn't yap at her the whole time.

She took her usual seat and pulled out her homework. She fought herself regularly not to look at the door. She knew he wasn't there yet. This has been the longest week of her life. She couldn't wait until this week was over and she didn't have detention. She could find some peace quiet to do her homework. She wished she could go home to do it but god knows what her mother would make her do.

She needed to start filling out college applications. She couldn't wait to move away to start her future. She couldn't wait to step on the streets of New York and live in the midst of the craziness of the city. She couldn't wait to designate all her time to do the things she loved the most. She was ready for an adventure. She was ready to get away from her crazy family.

Gabriella wondered where this year was going to take her. Would she continue to be the 'good' girl everybody made her out to be? Would she fly off the rail and ruin her future? No, she couldn't afford to do that. What about her friendship with Troy? Where would that end up? She nibbled on her lip as her mind explored the possibilities.

She rested her chin in her hand and sighed. She was so confused about everything. She just wanted to be alone and write a song. "Hey beautiful." Troy whispered as he whipped into the seat behind her.

She snapped out of her trance and looked back at him. She smiled before greeting him with a quiet. "Hey."

"Homework?"

"Tons." She said with a sigh. "I have to go home and write two papers and one is in Spanish."

"Yikes, sorry babe." He played with a curl at the end of her hair. "I have more algebra and a chem worksheet."

"Need help?" She asked, twisting in her chair.

"Yes, definitely with math. Math is not my favorite."

"After I finish up Trig, I'll help you with Algebra." She promised. "Thank god it's Thursday."

"One more day of detention with me." Troy said with a pout.

"It's not like you won't stalk me for the rest of the 9 months of school." Gabi said, laughing.

"That's true." He said with a shrug. "Maybe next week, I'll take you out on a date."

Gabi rolled her eyes. "I guess we'll see."

Darbus walked into detention and looked at the two of them. "I'll be in the theatre working on the set. We're taking a break in an hour, I'll come check on you then." She looked at the watch on her wrist. "If I don't, you're allowed to leave at 4:45. If you get done early, head to the theatre we can always use extra hands."

"I have a ton of homework." Gabriella shared. "I'll be working all night."

"Behave." Darbus said sternly.

"Always, Ms. D." Troy said, pulling out his algebra book.

Darbus sighed and walked out of the room. Gabriella picked up her desk and turned it around to face Troy. She kicked off her flats and stretched her legs, resting her feet on Troy's leg. She flipped her book to her half finished Trig homework. She hummed to herself as she worked on her homework.

Troy had a hard time focusing with the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen sitting in front of him. She was everything he admired. She was always a good girl but she had this edge to her. Everybody loved her and respected her. She was always a leader and she had a great head on her shoulders. She was her own person and he wanted to be just that- his own person.

Every day that he spent time with her, he was inspired to be better. She just awakened something in him that made him want to fight for the things he wanted. "Do your work and stop staring at me. It's distracting." She said, looking up at him.

He smiled, looking down at his paper. "Sorry."

Gabriella watched him for a moment before she continued working on her homework. She had a hard time getting focused back on her work. She tapped her pencil on her thumb as she watched him work. "What does your mom do, TB?" She asked, playing with her pencil.

"She's a realtor." Troy said, without looking up. "She has an office but she works from home most of the time because she'd come to my games."

"Is she going to use her office more now that you're not playing?"

"Probably. I wouldn't be surprised." He said, glancing up at her. "Why?"

"Just asking." She said simply. "I'm curious about you, TB."

"You can ask me anything." He said, giving her a small smile. "Even weird and awkward questions."

"Good to know." Gabriella nodded.

"Any other questions you can think of?" He asked, gaining her attention.

"Nope." She said, looking down at her work trying to focus again.

"Can I ask you any question I want?"

"I guess." She said hesitantly.

"How many boyfriends have you had?" He asked.

She looked up at him blankly. "Do you really care about that?"

Troy laughed. "No. I just wanted to see your reaction. I was going to ask you about sex but I don't really want to know about that either. I just want to know if you're happy where you are… if you're not, then how can I make you feel happy?"

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I don't know how to answer that…. Or feel about that question."

"What? No one has ever wanted to make you happy before?"

Gabriella laughed. "Actually, no. I'm always the person that tries to make people happy."

Troy grinned. "That doesn't surprise me."

She shrugged. "It gets old after a while. You do all these things for people but if you need one little thing, you have no one to help you." She said with another shrug. "I'm tired of it."

"I'm sure you are. I would be too."

"I just want someone to be there for me anytime. Like if I move three thousand miles away and get homesick, I want to be able to call someone and cry to them without feeling like I'm disturbing their life. Do you know what I mean?" She asked. He nodded. "I guess it's kind of stupid but that's how I feel."

"It's not stupid. It's not the slightest bit stupid." Troy said firmly. "I hope you never think your feelings are stupid. You're important and you're entitled to the things you want and need. I can be that person for you. Right now, or ten years from now, If you need anything then you can call me."

She rolled her eyes. "Sure, TB."

He sat up, grabbing her hand. "No, Gabriella, I'm serious. Anytime. I'll steal the car keys and come get you or sneak you into my room if you're super drunk, anything."

She squeezed his hand. "You're a special kind of man, TB."

"I'm trying to be." He shared, rubbing his fingers over hers before lacing them together.

"You're full of surprises and I think that is what I like most about you." She shifted in her seat before releasing her hand and picking up the pencil. "I have to do Trig, stop distracting me."

"You're the one distracting me!" Troy argued with a laugh.

"Whatever, shush." She teased. She reached over with her free hand and laced her fingers in between his. She focused on her homework, finishing her math with her hand in his. She released her hand to put it away. "How's algebra, TB?"

"I'm almost done." Troy said, surprising himself.

"Really?" Gabi asked, pleased.

"Yeah." He smiled, looking up at her. "You're a good tutor."

"I know." She said with a small smirk.

"Can you help me with Chem?" He asked with a wide grin.

"Of course. I'll go get a chair." She said, slipping her shoes on. She got up and walked over to grab a chair and carried it back to him. She slid in the seat, scooting closer to him.

"You just like sitting next to me." He teased, brushing her hair back.

She rolled her eyes. "You wish TB."

He puckered his lips out for a kiss and she covered his face with her hand, pushing him back. Troy scoffed as Gabriella pulled away. "That was rude, Montez."

"I sat by you to help you with homework, not make out."

"You have to admit that is a perk." He reasoned, playing with her hair.

"Will you stop?"

"No." He said, grinning.

"Where's your worksheet?" She asked, with a heavy sigh.

He pulled away from her before he pulled the worksheet from his binder. She leaned over to get a good look at it. He pushed all of her hair to one shoulder, exposing her neck to him. "Are your ears pierced?" He asked, rubbing her naked earlobe between his fingers.

"Yeah."

"Why don't you wear earrings?"

"I do, sometimes. My hair always gets caught in them." She explained, glancing over at him. "This is simple TB. You just have to look through your book to find the answers."

"My book is in my locker."

"Well, that's it doing there?" She asked, scooting her chair back. "Go get it."

"Come with me." He said, not moving.

"No, you get it by yourself. You're a big boy, TB."

"Please." He said, pouting out his bottom lip.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine." She got up, fixing her dress.

Troy led her out of the room with his hand on the small of her back. She leaned over, kissing his cheek. He slid his hand across her back to hold her hand. She smiled, squeezing his hand. He lead her to his locker, releasing her hand as they arrived. She leaned against the locker next to his as he opened his.

He pulled his Chem book out before closing his locker. He held the book in one arm, trapping her in with the other. "We're going to get in trouble." She said, looking at him as he leaned closer.

"We're already in detention." He said with a small grin.

"I'm in detention, you're not." She reminded him. "That means, I'm going to get in more trouble."

"No." He whispered as his lips touched hers lightly.

She smiled into the kiss before trying to push him back. He pulled back just enough to see her eyes. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him back to her. He grinned before tilting his head to deepen the kiss. She parted her lips slightly, pressing them to his.

"Bolton!" A firm voice shouted.

Gabriella shoved him away from her, turning her head in embarrassment as Coach Bolton walked up to the two of them. "Coach, it wasn't-" Troy got cut off by his father putting his hand up.

"I know. Troy, go back to Darbus' room please." Coach Bolton ordered.

"Coach-" Troy started.

"Now." Coach insisted.

Troy frowned towards Gabriella, mouthing an apology. He sighed before walking away. Gabriella watched him for a minute before she looked up at Coach Bolton. "I'm sorry." She blurted out.

"Come here." Coach lead her to a bench before sitting down. "Take a seat."

Gabriella did as she was told. "I'm sorry." She said again, not knowing exactly what to say, or what was going to happen.

"I don't know what to do, Ms. Montez." Coach sighed. "How did I make him hate me so much?"

Gabriella softened as she looked at the older man. "He doesn't hate you."

"Did you see the way he looked at me? He hates me."

Gabriella shook her head. "I don't think he does. He doesn't like you very much at the moment, but he doesn't hate you. He loves you, you're his father."

"I don't know what I can do. I just want what is best for him and I don't know what I did wrong." Coach said running his fingers through his hair. "What can I do to get my son back?"

Gabriella bit her lip, fighting within herself. She took a deep breath. "I will talk to Troy. I don't know if he will listen, but I will talk to him. I think you should be his father and not his coach. I know for a fact that he is not going to play basketball anytime soon. I just think maybe not pressuring him into playing and supporting whatever else he wants to do. He's in the play." She suggested.

"The play?" Coach asked confused.

"Cabaret." She nodded. "He's playing the character that's in love with my character… go figure." She said with a roll of her eyes. "But yeah. I'm sorry if I offended you." She said hesitantly.

Coach shook his head. "No, not at all. I don't even know where his head is at, you at least some insight to him." Coach Bolton sighed. "Thank you for driving him home. He's stubborn. He gets it from me." He said with a humorless laugh.

"Anytime, coach. I got to get back to detention." Gabriella said with a wince.

"Can I ask why you're in detention?" Coach asked.

Gabriella sighed. "My boyfriend at the time called me in the middle of class. Then I called Darbus a tyrant…. Then I was late the next day so she gave me detention for the week… and I had to audition for the play."

Coach laughed. "I think she's even tougher than I am. I'll let you go. Gabriella, again, thank you."

Gabi smiled. "You're welcome, coach B." She turned and walked quickly back to Darbus' room.

"What was that all about?" Troy asked, watching as she made her way to her chair.

"Don't worry about it TB. Your dad definitely thinks I am your girlfriend now." She said, stretching her legs across his lap.

"He's going to be so annoying at home." Troy said with a groan.

Gabriella shrugged. "Maybe not."

He turned slowly to look at her. "Why?" He asked slowly.

She shrugged. "Where's your chem?" She asked, reaching for his book.

He took her hand. "No, tell me."

She shook her head. "Finish your homework, I'll give you a kiss then I'll tell you." She compromised.

He sighed. "You drive a hard bargain Montez."

"I'm in politics. I have to." She said with a short laugh. "Come on, focus."

He sighed, sitting up straight. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Read the sheet, find the answers in the book. It's not that hard TB."

"I'm not a genius like you Gabriella Montez." He teased, opening the book. "Can't you just do it for me?"

"No way, TB. I'm not getting caught."

Troy chuckled. "You're such a good girl." He teased, kissing her ear gently.

She covered her ear with her shoulder, squealing slightly. "Focus, Bolton, or I'm not gonna help you."

"Fine, fine, fine." He said, shifting in his seat and looking down at his book. "Can you just tell me what Coach said?"

"Focus!" She scolded.

"Sorry, cupcake. It's just fucking with my mind."

She sighed. "I'm going to go pee. When I get back, you better be done with the first two questions." She said, getting up. He opened his mouth to say something but she gave him a stern look so he shut his mouth. She grinned, walking out of the room and to the bathroom.

She hummed to herself, pushing open the door. She stared at herself in the mirror. She wished that she could have a senior year like Troy's. She wished she could break away from all of her responsibilities. She just wanted to have a fun year. She sighed. Senior year was hard and its going to be harder as the year goes on. She can just imagine the pressure she's gonna feel from her parents.

She shook out of that anxious feeling and washed her hands. She stepped into a stall and sang quietly to herself as she used the restroom. She washed her hands again after she finished. She checked herself over in the bathroom before walking out. She hummed herself a melody that she hoped she'd remember when she got home to write down.

She opened the door to an empty room. She frowned, looking around. "TB?" She pouted as she took her seat. She sighed, looking at the paper. His chem questions were halfway done. They were written sloppily but it was still legible. She smiled to herself before getting up again.

She walked into the music room and took a seat at the piano. _"Daydreamin'_ " She sang, testing it out. She cleared her throat before trying again. _"Daydreamin, with the chin in the palm of my hand."_

"About me?" Troy asked, peaking his head into the door.

Gabriella jumped, turning around. "Yeah, about you." She said, watching him as he took his usual seat next to her, straddling the bench. "Where'd you go?"

"I was looking for Coach but I couldn't find him."

"Man, you are relentless." She said. "And stubborn, and impatient."

"Wow, Montez, you sure can make a guy feel great." He said sarcastically. Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Are you going to play me a song today?"

She shook her head. "Nope, you didn't finish your homework."

"Let's go before detention is over." He said, standing up.

"Or I'll stay here and you finish your homework?" She said with a small smirk.

"Nope, you'll be too far away." He said firmly. "I'll get our stuff and I'll be right back."

She sighed, watching him leave before she got the chance to reply. She turned back to the piano, humming to herself. She played the melody she was playing before. She itched to write it down in her notebook. She turned in her seat and watched him come into the room with their things.

"Here you go, cupcake." He said, handing her bag to her.

"Gracias, TB." She said, pulling out her notebook. She looked up at him and he was staring at her. "What?"

He breathed out. "You, speaking Spanish." He let out a sigh and shook his head.

"What? Is it bad?" She asked with a confused expression.

"No!" He assured. "Not at all. It's so sexy."

Gabriella laughed. "Oh lord, TB." She shook her head. "Come here."

He took the seat next to her. "Why?"

"I think we are best friends now." She shared, wrapping her arms around him.

"Why?" He asked with a laugh, hugging her back.

"Because you make me feel like a normal person." She said with a laugh. "You do like to kiss me too, so you know, that's a plus."

Troy chuckled. "We can be whatever you want us to be cupcake."

She leaned over, pressing a kiss to his lips. "Go finish your homework."

"Yes, ma'am." He murmured with a small smile.

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

Gabriella met Troy at his locker before detention on Friday. It was her final day of detention and she was happy that it was over. She had two weeks off before after school rehearsals started for Cabaret. Rehearsals were at free period for now. She and Troy ran over their lines together in a corner, away from Sharpay and her ego.

Troy had seemed happier today and she was glad. He went home with Coach after detention yesterday. Gabriella hoped that Coach listened to what she had said and applied it. She'd have to ask him later. She leaned up against the locker next to his as he dug through to get what he needed for homework.

He grabbed his books, shoving them into his backpack before closing his locker. "Ready, cupcake?"

"Ready, TB." She said, shifting her backpack on her shoulder. She took the lead, walking to Ms. Darbus' room. She walked into the room and took her usual seat. Troy sat behind her and they both pulled out their homework.

Darbus walked in the room and took a double take at the two of them. "Oh, Ms. Montez. Detention is cancelled today. Mr. Bolton, you'll have to go to the gym unless Coach Bolton lets you go."

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. "Sweet. Thanks Ms. D. Have a nice weekend."

"You as well." Darbus said, grabbing her purse and walking out the door.

Gabriella turned around to look at Troy. Troy pouted. "What?" She asked, laughing.

"I was looking forward to spending quality time in detention." Troy said, picking up his bag to put his items back in.

"Let's talk Coach B into letting you go to the library or something." Gabriella said, standing up.

"We could go to my house." He said, zipping his backpack. "Mom's at work."

Gabriella raised her eyebrows at him. "You think he'll go for it?"

Troy shrugged. "If not, we can say were going to the library and go to my house instead."

"Oh boy, TB. You're trouble."

"Just come on, cupcake." He said, reaching for her hand. He dragged her out of the classroom. He twirled her before he pulled her to the gym. They walked in and she let go of his hand as they approached coach Bolton.

"Closed Practice, Bolton." Chad Danforth spat out.

"Cool it, Danforth." Coach said warningly. "What are you guys doing in here?"

"Darbus cancelled detention. She told me to come in here. I was wondering if me and Gabriella can do homework at the house." Troy asked.

Coach Bolton looked between the two of them. "I'll leave after I help Troy with his homework, if you'd like?" Gabriella negotiated.

Coach sighed. "That's fine. Just don't make a mess."

"Thanks coach." Troy said with a grin. "Let's go cupcake." Troy grabbed Gabriella's hand, walking her to the doors.

"'Let's go cupcake'? Who is that and where is the hoops I know?" Chad Danforth said to Coach as they walked out of the gym.

Gabriella dropped his hand and ran her fingers through the back of his hair. He hummed in appreciation. "That feels nice." She stopped and he pouted. "Hey!"

"Come on, TB. We have homework to do." She reminded him. They walked out to her car, sliding in their perspective sides. He slid his hand on her thigh as she pulled out of the parking lot. She turned on the radio and sang along to the song that was on. Troy watched her, amused.

She remembered the way to Troy's house and parked on the street in front of his house. "Shit!" Troy said as he climbed out of the car.

"What?" She asked, looking at him.

"My room is messy." He said with a frown.

She rolled her eyes. "I bet it's not." Gabriella said, getting out and grabbing her things. She locked the car and walked with him to the front door.

"Oh, it is." He said, pulling out his key. He unlocked the door and ran into the kitchen to disarm the alarm system.

"Fancy." She said, looking around his front room.

"My mom's a realtor so she does all her fancy meetings here with her realtor friends." Troy said with a shrug. "I'm going to run upstairs, you can have a seat."

"I'm going with you." She said, adjusting her backpack.

"No!" He said, sitting her down on the couch.

"Come on, TB. Let me see the good, the bad and the dirty." She said, standing up.

Troy sighed. "Fine." He lead her to his room and opened the door.

"Oh my god." She said, kicking the one shirt that was on his floor. "This is messy? You must be high." She said, walking in and sitting on his perfectly made bed, bouncing a little bit. "At least it doesn't stink."

"I couldn't function if my room stank." Troy said. "I have OCD when it comes to my room."

"Coach B trained you well." She said, kicking off her shoes and laying back on his bed.

"I thought we were doing homework." He said, sitting next to her.

"You can, I'm going to take a nap. I don't even remember the last time I took a nap." She said, closing her eyes.

"I want to nap with you." He said, scooting over to her. "Let's spoon."

She laughed, wrapping her arms around his middle. She rest her head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. He stroked her hair back as she hummed happily. They laid there for a minute before Gabriella leaned up to kiss his lips. She laid her head back down before she slid her hand under his tshirt, running her fingers along the warm skin of his waist.

"Cupcake." He murmured.

"What?" She asked, without looking up at him.

"You're making me hard." He murmured. Her hand explored down his waist to the area he was just talking about. He sat up instantly when she touched it.

"What?" She asked, innocently, trying her best not to smirk.

"Don't touch it." He warned, putting his arms in his lap.

She bit back a giggle. "Why not?"

"Because." He said, laying back down, turning to his stomach. "I don't want to do anything embarrassing."

She giggled, laying on top of him. "I'm sorry for touching you." She kissed the back of his neck.

He rocked his body, causing her to roll off. He laid on his back and she climbed back on top of him. "I think we should do our homework." He said slowly.

She tilted her head. "That's something I never thought you'd say." She straddled him, sitting on his lap.

Troy held his breath. "Gabriella, please."

"Okay, okay, Sorry." She said rolling off of him.

"I like it, I do."

"It's about self-control. I get it, TB. Don't worry." She said, leaning over and kissing his cheek. "You're sweet… and you're right about homework. Coach Bolton would be pissed if he found out you didn't even start on your homework."

She got up and grabbed her bag, taking her seat on the bed. Troy slid to the floor and pulled his book out from his backpack. They were quiet as they did their homework separately. Gabriella finished hers and packed up her back pack. She glanced at the clock. It was about four. She slid of the bed.

"Where are you going?" He asked, watching her finish zipping up her bag.

"Home." She said, picking up her bag.

"I thought you were going to help me with homework." He said, reaching out for her.

"Do you need help?" She asked, looking over at his homework.

"Yes."

She dropped her backpack at her feet and took a seat next to him. "What do you need help with?"

"This one." He said, pointing to the problem he was working on.

"You're not dumb, TB. You know how to do this."

He frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She said with a shrug. "You have to graph the equation."

"I don't want to do this." He said with a sigh.

"I know, but you have to." She reminded him. "Come on, you only have two left." She encouraged, rubbing the back of his head.

Troy sighed. He picked up his pencil, writing out his equation. She played with his hair as he finished his homework. He closed his book and sighed. "That's it." He looked over at her. "Well, I have to read, but I do that before bed."

She smiled, releasing his hair. "It's like you don't even need my help anymore." She stood up, before taking a seat on his bed. He put his books away and took a seat next to her, making her bounce on the bed.

"Of course, I'll need your help." He said, grinning.

"Why are you smiling at me like that?" She asked, looking at him wearily.

He shrugged. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I think I'm taking Camilla to a friends' then I don't know. I might take Mariella out to do something so she isn't sitting at home all day." She leaned back on her elbows. "What about you TB?"

"Nothing."

"I can pick you up tomorrow and we can hang out." She said, looking over at him.

Troy grinned. "You're the best."

"I know." She said, flipping her hair back.

Troy laughed, laying back on his bed. He sighed, closing his eyes. "I love being home alone. I have never been home alone during the day, only on when my parents went on their weird parent dates."

"I haven't seen my dad since my sister's birthday… that was three months ago." She said, laying down next to him.

"Do you miss him?" Troy asked, looking over at her.

"I miss being like four, when my mom was pregnant with Cami. My dad was home all the time. He worked mainly from home because my mom was on bed rest. Then they hired my nanny on full time after Cami was born and he went back to work." She licked her lips. "I haven't had an actually conversation with him in a couple weeks."

"He calls you?"

"No, I have to call him. Ninety five percent of the time he is in a meeting but on a rare occasion he is not. I have to talk to him for my mom." She said rolling her eyes. "It's like they're on two different planets."

"I'm sorry, cupcake."

"It's alright, TB." She hummed. "It's life."

Troy ran his fingers through her hair. "I'm always here for you."

"I know." She said softly. "What time is your mom getting home?"

"Not sure." He rolled over to face her.

"I guess I should leave before your dad gets home." She said, sitting up.

"We still have like an hour. Stay a little longer." He said, reaching over, pulling her down. He pulled her closer to him. He pressed a kiss to her lips.

"I thin-" She started but he cut her off with a kiss.

"Please." He murmured in between kisses.

She sighed into his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. She moved her lips along his, smiling as he licked her bottom lip. She met his tongue with a flick of hers. She tilted her head, grasping the back of his neck. Troy rested his hand on her back, pressing her against him. She moved her leg over both of his and rolled onto her back. She stretched her neck to kiss him comfortably.

Troy held his weight for a moment before rolling to her back, pulling her on top of him. Gabriella straddled his waist, pressing her lips against his. Troy's hands rested on her back. She slipped her hands under his shirt, feeling around his toned abdomen. His hands slid slowly down her back. She bit his bottom lip gently, tugging at it slightly. Her lips grazed along his jaw to his neck. Her lips attached to his neck. Troy let out a breath. She sucked lightly against his neck. His hands slid down to caress her butt. She bit down gently causing him to let out a quiet moan. She moved her lips back up to his, kissing his lips firmly.

They heard the beeping of the front door and pulled apart quickly. They didn't move or breathe until they heard his mom call out, "Troy."

Troy gulped, looking over at Gabriella. She climbed off of him, biting back her smile. "I'm in my room mom." Troy called out, standing up. He turned away from Gabriella to adjust himself quickly. "My friend Gabriella is here."

"Alright, honey. I'm about to start dinner." She yelled up to them.

Troy turned back to Gabriella. "Wow. I didn't expect that."

"What?" Gabriella asked with a small laugh.

"I don't know. I thought she'd come up here."

"Maybe your dad talked to her?" She suggested.

"Maybe." He hummed.

"I think I should go now." She said, licking her lips.

"You don't want to meet my mom?" He asked with a teasing grin.

"I'll say hi as I leave."

Troy chuckled. "That's what you think. You're staying for dinner."

"No."

"Yes, you are, just wait." He said with a grin.

"I don't think so." She said, putting her backpack on.

"You'll see." He said, leaning down to kiss her lips once before he lead her out of the room. She followed him down the stairs then into the kitchen. "Hey, mama." He greeted.

"Hi honey." She said glancing back at the two of them, she did a double take. "I thought you were kidding about the girl."

Troy blushed. "Thanks mom." He said sarcastically.

"Hi, I'm Gabriella." Gabi said as she stuck her hand out. "It's nice to meet you Mrs. Bolton."

"Nice to meet you too, Gabriella." She said shaking her hand. "You go to East High?"

"Yep." Troy answered for her. "She's the yearbook editor and vice president of the senior class."

Mrs. Bolton smiled. "So how did you two meet?"

"I got detention." Gabriella said with a shrug. "I called Ms. Darbus a spineless tyrant."

Mrs. Bolton laughed. "Darbus is so uptight, Jack always complains about her. Hopefully, she didn't take it to heart."

Gabriella shook her head. "No, she still put me in her play. Troy's in the play too." She mentioned looking over at Troy.

"You're in the play?" Mrs. Bolton asked, confused. "Since when do you like theatre?"

Troy shrugged. "I don't hate it." Troy shared. "I bought pizza for detention in trade for an audition. I didn't know she'd actually put me in the thing. Thankfully, I'm playing beside Gabriella or else I wouldn't have done it."

"His character is in love with mine." Gabriella explained. "It's Cabaret."

Mrs. Bolton smiled. "Well I can't wait to see it. Is that loud blonde girl in it too?"

"Sharpay?" Gabriella asked with a laugh. "Of course she is."

"I remember your sixth grade concert, she was the loudest one."

"I had the stomach flu that day." Gabriella recollected. "I'm glad I didn't go. I would have barfed all over the stage."

"You would have barfed all over me. I stood in front of you." Troy said, laughing.

Gabriella laughed. "Man, I wish I would have gone now." She joked. "I guess I should get going."

"You don't have to." Troy said, looking at his mother.

Mrs. Bolton looked back at her son. "Do you want to stay for dinner Gabriella? I'm not used to inviting his friends to stay, they usually do anyway."

"I'm going to make sure my little sisters are okay, then I'll let you know." Gabriella said, pulling out her cell phone. "Excuse me." Gabriella said, stepping out of the room. She put her backpack on the couch and dialed her home phone.

"Montez." Rose, the nanny, answered the phone.

"Hey Rose." Gabriella said. "What are Cami and Mari doing?"

"They're getting ready for dinner. Your mother is out."

Gabriella sighed. "They okay?"

"Yeah, they've been working on homework. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Rose, I'm at Troy's house. His mom invited me for dinner."

Rose laughed. "Do you want to stay?"

"Yeah, I'd like to. I just wanted to make sure they were okay first." She said slowly.

"They're fine, Gabi. Enjoy your dinner. I'll see you later."

"Alright, love you. See you at home." She said, hanging up her phone. She walked back in the kitchen. "I'd like to stay for dinner." Gabriella said with a small smile.

Mrs. Bolton and Troy had matching wide smiles. "Great! You're invited anytime!" Mrs. Bolton said.

"Thanks mom." Troy said, pressing a kiss to his mom's cheek. "Call us when it's ready. We'll be in the living room." Mrs. Bolton laughed as Troy dragged her out of the kitchen and into the living room. "Wanna watch a movie?" Troy asked.

"Sure." She said, moving her backpack off the couch and taking a seat, curling her feet to the side of her.

Troy took a seat next to her, picking up the remote. He turned on the TV, flipping through channels. Once he found a random movie, he laid across the couch with his head on her lap. She shifted her feet and placed his head in her lap. She stroked his hair back as they watched the movie.

Within ten minutes Troy was fast asleep on her lap. She felt a little awkward but he was kind of cute when he was asleep. She continued to run her fingers through his hair as she watched the movie. The front door closed and Coach Bolton stopped when he rounded the corner, seeing Gabriella and his son on the couch.

Gabriella gave him a nervous smile. "Hey coach B." She greeted.

"Hello, Ms. Montez." Jack said with a little chuckle. "He passed out on you?"

"Yeah. He had a long, hard day of sitting in a desk for eight hours." Gabriella joked.

"You can just push him off you when he starts getting too heavy." Coach Bolton joked back. He walked into the kitchen to greet his wife with a kiss.

Gabriella kissed Troy's mouth once, quickly, to wake him up. "Hm?" Troy asked, sitting up slowly. "What happened?"

"You fell asleep." Gabriella said with a small smile. "Your dad's home."

"What did he say?" Troy asked with a groan.

"He told me that I could push you off the couch if I wanted to." Gabriella said with a laugh.

"No, he didn't." Troy denied, rubbing his face. "Did I drool?"

"No." Gabriella laughed. "But he really said that."

"I don't believe you."

"Go ask him yourself, he's in the kitchen with your mom." Gabriella said, jerking her thumb towards the kitchen.

"Nah, I'd rather stay here and kiss you." He said, leaning in, puckering his lips.

She giggled, pushing him away. "Nope." He pouted as she got up. "Bye." Gabriella said as she took off towards the kitchen. Troy got up to chase her around the house. Gabriella shut every door in his face to buy time. She made it up to his room and hid in his closet.

"Cupcake? Where are you?" Troy asked from the hall.

She bit back a giggle, trying to stay as still as possible. The door to Troy's room opened and she held her breath. She saw him through the crack of the open closet door. His back was to her, looking under his bed. He stood up and Gabriella jumped out, scaring him. "Boo!" Troy squealed like a child, causing Gabriella to fall back on the bed with laughter.

* * *

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	7. Chapter 7

Troy pouted on the way down the stairs after his mom called them down for dinner. Gabriella was still giggling softly behind him. "Don't be mad, TB." She cooed, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You made me squeal." He murmured, with a pouty lip.

"It was cute though." She said, starting to giggle again. She kissed the back of his neck as they came to a halt at the bottom of the stairs. He turned around to face her and she kissed his pouty lip. "I'm sorry I made you squeal."

"It's okay." He murmured, kissing her nose. "Just don't do it again."

"No promises." She said, watching his face fall. She giggled again. "You're so grumpy TB." She kissed his lips slowly. "Maybe I need to loosen you up a little." She whispered against his lips.

Troy gulped. "No, none of that."

It was Gabriella's turn to pout. "I'll change your mind."

"Let's go cupcake, I already see the ideas brewing in that dangerous mind of yours."

She bit her bottom lip, winking at him. "Let's eat." Troy shook his head, leading her into the kitchen.

They filled their plates before they took their seats, Gabriella sitting in between Troy and Coach B. His mother sitting across from Gabriella with a full plate of food she served herself. Troy's mother was the first to speak up. "Gabriella, what are you planning to do for college?"

She chewed and swallowed before speaking. "I want to go to Julliard but my parents want me to go to Stanford. I'm applying to both as well as many other schools. I just want to focus on music, have some classical training before I try to jump into the music industry."

"If you need any recommendations, I'll be happy to write you one. You're a very bright student and East High is very lucky to have you." Jack said with a smile. "There are much nicer schools in Albuquerque that are more advanced."

"East High's curriculum is advanced, it's the best public high school in Albuquerque. I actually fought my parents on it. I went to public school all my life then they just wanted to stick me in a charter school, I was not happy."

Troy glanced at her from the end of the table. He cleared his throat before he spoke. "I'm applying to seven schools…. In seven different states."

His mother raised his eyebrow. "I thought you were planning on U of A."

Troy shrugged. "I'm applying there and it's a fall back option if I don't get into anything else. I applied for the University of California in Berkeley, Florida, Hawaii, NYU, UNLV, and UNC." He shared. "I'm open to more but nothing else has caught my eye."

His mother frowned. "None of those are close."

"Las Vegas is." He said with a shrug. "And U of A, but I don't want to go there."

"Well, son, we want to be there when you open the envelopes… or if they email, let me know so we can start touring schools." Coach Bolton said with a soft, but proud smile.

"I will." Troy said kind of surprised.

"So are you dating?" His mother asked shamelessly, with a smirk.

Troy and Gabriella looked at each other before Troy shook his head. "No, mom. When we figure it out, I'll let you know."

Gabriella smiled over at him. "I have been helping him with his work and he is doing amazing in all of his classes."

"Yep." Troy said proudly. "Four A's and two B's as of today."

"Great job baby!" His mother smiled. "I'm glad you're dedicating your time to school since you aren't doing basketball."

"I make sure of it." Gabriella said. "Homework first, even for me."

Troy nodded, chewing. "It's true, she rides my ass if I try not to get my work done."

"Be grateful you have a wonderful friend like her, Troy." Coach Bolton said. "She cares about you."

Troy smirked, looking over at Gabriella. "What?" She asked him. "I don't want to be around you when you're in a shitty mood."

"You care about me." Troy teased.

"That's it I'm leaving." Gabi joked, getting out of her seat.

"No!" Troy said, standing up quickly. He pushed her shoulders down gently, making her sit.

"See what I have to put up with Coach B?" Gabriella asked, pointing to Troy.

Coach Bolton laughed. "Better you than me." He teased. "Just kidding son… And When we're not at school, you can call me Jack."

"Alright…. Jack." She said testing it out. "It's weird." She decided before taking another bite.

"So mom, how's work?" Troy asked, changing the subject.

His mother smiled at him. "Work is work, honey. How is school?"

"School is great." Troy said, sipping his water. "I actually like going to school now."

Jack snorted. "Since when?"

"Since I only have to worry about school… and I get to bother Gabi." He said with a wide grin at the girl sitting next to him.

Gabriella nodded. "It's true. He hasn't left me alone since Monday."

Troy nodded, shrugging. "I can't help it."

The rest of the evening was filled with laughter and chatter. Troy didn't remember the last time him and his father had a discussion that wasn't about basketball. He had a great time and he was happy that Gabriella was there sitting by him. Since he really got to know her, everything felt like it was falling into place. He liked her, he really did. Of course, she knew that but they agreed on friendship and that was okay with him for now.

He walked Gabriella out to her car as when they realized it was getting late. She stopped before she stepped off the curb in front of her car. "Thanks for the good time, TB." Gabriella said with a smile.

"You're welcome anytime, cupcake. I think my parents like you more than they like the guys." Troy said with a chuckle.

"Man, your mom can cook. My house keeper is good, but your mom blows her out of the water. Never tell her I said that though." She said seriously. She ran her fingers through his hair. "We still on for tomorrow?"

Troy nodded. "Yep, I'll call you when I wake up and see where you are?" He suggested.

"Sounds good to me." She said, shrugging. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He nodded, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "See you." Troy murmured. He didn't step back to walk back to his house.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close to her. She stood on her tip toes, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Maybe Sunday, you can see if your dad is doing anything? You can hang out with him?"

"We'll see." He mumbled in her ear.

She pulled away from him, pressing her lips to him. She put her hands on the back of his neck, keeping him close. Troy grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist. He connected their lips again, letting out a soft sigh. She pulled away slowly, running her finger along his bottom lip. "I'll see you tomorrow." She whispered to him with a soft smile. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, beautiful." He pressed a kiss to her lips again before he released her from his arms.

He slid his hands in his pockets as he watched her get in the car. He took a step back on the curb. She waved to him as she pulled away. He watched her drive down the street. Once she was out of his sight, he turned back and walked to his house. He walked inside, closing the door behind him.

"What do you think?" He asked his mom who was sitting on the couch next to his father.

"We hate her." His mother said with a serious expression. She took a drink of her water. "Can't stand her."

Troy looked at her wide eyed. "What?"

She burst into laughter. "Just kidding, honey. She's great."

Jack chuckled from next to her. "She's a good girl, Troy."

Troy grinned. "Yeah, I like her too."

"Hope she comes around more often." His mom said, leaning over to give her husband a kiss. "Goodnight honey." She said as she got up and kissed Troy's cheek.

"Goodnight, mama." He said, kissing her cheek as well.

"I think I'm gonna head up too." His father said, getting up.

"Wait, coach, I was wondering what you were doing Sunday?" Troy said, stopping his dad.

"Nothing, son, why?" Jack asked.

"Maybe we can go do something? I think the car show is this weekend."

Jack grinned. "Sure, son. That sounds good."

"Great. Goodnight coach." Troy said.

"Troy." His father stopped him. "I'm not your coach. I'm your dad."

Troy smiled apologetically. "Goodnight, dad."

"Goodnight, son." Jack smiled, patting his shoulder as he walked passed.

Troy turned off the lights down stairs and walked up to his room. He laid on his bed and sighed. It smelled like her. She smelled like sunshine and flowers. The thoughts of her in his bed and straddling him just made his life harder. Literally. He wanted to just keep her next to him all of the time. He groaned, getting up. He changed his clothes and crawled into bed.

* * *

Gabriella got home and slipped in the door without anybody noticing. She headed straight for her room and into her bathroom. She pulled her hair back and wiped the makeup off her face. She put chapstick on her lips, rubbing them together.

"Gabi?"

She jumped. "Dear god, Mari. You scared the crap out of me."

"Sorry." She said, softly. "Daddy's not home yet… It's Friday."

Gabriella frowned, turning toward her sister. "We can call him tomorrow and maybe even go visit him?"

"He'll probably be busy."

"He'll make time for you Mari, promise. We can do whatever you want after, okay? My friend is going to come hang out with us in the afternoon. His name is Troy."

"Another boyfriend?" She asked, sitting on the closed toilet.

She shook her head. "Nope, he's just a friend. He's really nice."

"Good. Every time you bring one of your boyfriends you forget all about me 'cause all you do is kiss." Mariella said, swinging her feet.

"I promise it won't be like that tomorrow." She said, smoothing some moisturizer on her face. "Want some lotion? Makes your face soft."

She smiled. "Okay."

Gabriella knelt down. "Always moisturize. It makes you look young and pretty."

"Rose is mad at you for getting in late." Mari said, rubbing the lotion across her face.

"I'll talk to her tomorrow."

"Hey, Gabi?" Her little sister asked, looking up at her.

"Yeah?" She asked, rubbing in the lotion on her baby sister's face.

"Can you pick me up again? We can get French Fries like last year?"

Gabriella grinned. "We can do that next week and the week after but after that I start rehearsals for the play."

"Okay." Mari said, nodding. "Can I sleep with you?"

Gabi laughed. "Is that why you came in here?"

"Possibly."

Gabi laughed, nodding. "Go get in bed."

Mariella giggled and ran off. Gabriella brushed her teeth and put her retainer in before walking to bed. She turned her light off and crawled in bed next to her little sister. She cuddled against her sister, closing her eyes. "Love you Gabi."

"Love you too, Mari. Goodnight." She murmured, kissing the back of her sister's head.

Gabriella woke up next to her little sister curled up next to her. She turned to look at her clock, it was a little after seven in the morning. She shook her sister. "Mari, wake up. Let's get ready and wake up Cami." She said in a soft voice.

Mari popped up, her eyes still closed. "Okay, I'm coming."

Gabi rolled out of bed and closed herself into her bathroom. She did her normal routine, minus the make up and walked out. She shook her sister again who went back to sleep. "Mariella, up." Gabi said firmly. "You better be in that bathroom by the time I wake up Cami."

Mariella groaned, mumbling. "Okay."

Gabriella walked out of her room and over to her sisters across the hall. She knocked on the door. "Cami." She waited for a second before she knocked again, opening the door. "Camilla, wake up." She sat down on the bed next to her sister.

"What, Gabi?" Camilla mumbled.

"Wake up, get your stuff ready." Gabi instructed.

She moaned, turning over. "Go away."

"You have ten minutes or I'm going to sit on you." Gabi threatened, walking out of the room. She walked into her little sister's room, going through drawers, picking out clothes for her baby sister. She carried them into her room. "Mari, let's get dressed."

"Mmm, okay." She hummed, sitting up again, opening an eye.

Gabriella helped her stand up and get undressed. She dressed her sister in the clothes she brought. She sat behind her sister and ran a brush though her hair. She had the same thick, curly, dark hair both other sisters had. Gabriella braided her sisters hair before sending her off to the bathroom.

She walked into Cami's room again and she sat up immediately. "I'm up."

Gabi smiled, sitting on the bed. "Good. Did you want to go get breakfast?"

"Depends." She said, stretching her back. "What are we getting?"

"Whatever you want, Cam." Gabi said, smiling. "I'm going to call dad and see what he's doing. Mari wants to see him."

"He won't answer." Cami said, rolling her eyes. "Go ahead and try."

"I'll give him a good talking to. What's he going to do? Kick me out of the house he lives in only five times a year?"

Cami snorted. "Less than that."

"Go get in the shower." Gabi said, shaking her head. "I have to too."

"Kay." Cami hummed, getting out of bed.

Gabi walked around back into her room. Mari was sitting on her bed with sleepy eyes. "Mari, go play for twenty minutes while I get in the shower, okay?"

"I'll go find Rose." She said with a small smile.

"Okay." Gabi smiled, watching her leave.

She closed her bedroom door behind her. She pulled out her phone, dialing her father's cell phone. She waited three rings before he answered. "Richard Montez, speaking."

"Hey." Gabi answered.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Your daughter!" Gabriella said with a scoff. "It's Gabi, dad."

"What do you need, Gabi? I have a meeting in five minutes."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "I wanted to know if you wanted to go to breakfast with your daughters… since you haven't seen us in a good six months."

"It hasn't been six months." Richard said. "What time?"

"When is your meeting over?" She asked, walking around her room, picking out clothes to wear later.

"Nine thirty, maybe nine forty-five." Her father said, sighing. "is that okay?"

"I have to get in the shower and so does Cami. She's going to pick so we'll probably get to wherever we're going at like 9:30." She said. "Cami's picking."

"I'll try to make it, but no promises. Just text me where you're going."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later."

"Alright, Gabi, see you later."

Gabriella hung up without another word. She grabbed her clothes and went into the bathroom. After her shower, she got dressed in jean shorts and a green quarter sleeve shirt. She brushed her hair back and blow dried her curls so they weren't completely damp. She brushed her hair again before smoothing some anti-fizz product in it and leaving it be.

She put her Vans on and found Cami putting on make-up. "Did you pick yet?" Gabi asked, fixing her socks.

"Um, IHOP?" Cami suggested with a shrug.

"Whatever you want. You know me and Mari will eat anything."

"Are you calling me picky?"

"You are picky." Gabi said laughing.

Cami laughed. "You're right."

"So, IHOP?"

"Yep." Cami said, returning to her make-up.

"Alright, just come downstairs when you're ready." She said before walking out of Cami's room. Gabriella walked into her own deciding to put light make up on before walking down stairs.

"Gabriella!" Her mother called from upstairs. "Come here, honey."

Gabriella sighed and reluctantly turned around. She walked into her parents… well her mother's bedroom. "Yeah, mom?"

"I need you to take the girls out for a while. I'm having an adult function here." Her mother said. She was sitting in front of her vanity, cleaning her rings.

"Camilla is going to her friends for the night. We're going out to breakfast and I'll have Mariella all day." Gabriella said slowly.

"Great!" Her mother smiled. "Don't forget to call your father!"

"Why would I need to call my father?" Gabriella asked.

"Today's his birthday, honey."

Gabi shook her head. "His birthday is next Saturday…Mom." Gabriella glanced over at the calendar and smirked. "Today is your 20th wedding anniversary, though. Congratulations." Gabriella turned and walked out of the room.

She grabbed her purse and her phone from her room before walking down stairs. "Are we leaving?" Mari asked from the couch.

"Not yet." Gabi said, setting her things next to her sister. "We have to wait for Cami."

"That's going to take forever." Mari said, sighing.

Gabi laughed. "Hey, Rose." She greeted as her housekeeper walked into the room.

"Come with me." Rose instructed, grabbing Gabi's arm and pulling her into the kitchen.

"What's up?" Gabi asked, lifting herself onto the counter.

"Why'd you get home so late?" Rose asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Gabriella shrugged. "We were talking. Troy, his parents and I got along better than I thought it would. They're great people."

"You like him?" Rose said with a small smile.

"He's alright, I guess." Gabi said with a shrug.

"But what about the other guy?"

"Owen?" Gabi asked. "I broke up with him a couple days ago. Troy is his cousin, well distant cousin."

"Are you being safe?"

Gabi made a face. "We haven't had sex. He's a virgin."

Rose laughed. "You believe him."

"Yeah, You'll know when you meet him." Gabi said, swinging her legs. "I'm taking the girls out for breakfast. You wanna come?"

"I have to prepare for your mothers party." Rose said, rolling her eyes.

Gabi winced. "Sorry about that. I called Dad this morning. He might be meeting us for breakfast… we'll see."

Rose shrugged. "He might surprise you."

Gabi snorted. "Yeah, right. I just feel bad for Mari. She's still young enough to actually like the guy."

"That's your father." Rose reminded her.

"Only when it's convenient for him." Gabi said, rolling her eyes. She hopped off the counter. "Anyway, after we drop Cami off. Mari and I are going to hang out for a while. We're gonna meet up with Troy."

"Again?" Rose asked.

"Yeah. He's cool. I told him to hang out with his dad tomorrow though. I have lessons all day. Vocal at 10, I have to come back and pick up Mari to go to piano at 1, then guitar at three. Pick up Cami from her friends then maybe go eat. Are you making anything?"

Rose shrugged. "No idea, you know how your mother is. I'll let you know tomorrow. I'll text you."

"Alright. I'm going to go drag Cami down here by her hair."

Rose laughed. "Good luck with that."

* * *

 **Sorry that this wasn't up on monday. I started working and i've been exhausted all week. I have today off because of the fourth tomorrow! I hope everybody celebrating in America has a happy, fun, and safe holiday! Don't forget to review!**


	8. Chapter 8

Gabriella and her sisters got settled in a booth at IHOP. She looked at her phone and it was a little past 9:30. They ordered drinks and thumbed through the menu. Gabi watched as Mari and Cami cuddled together in the bench seat across from her in the booth. She loved her sisters even if they did drive her insane all the time. She was going to be devastated, leaving them at home when she goes off to college. At least Rose would be there for them.

"Gabi, can I just get hash browns?" Mari asked, looking over at her sister.

Gabi laughed. "No. How about some pancakes too?"

"Like one pancake?"

"But you have to eat all of it." Gabi warned.

She sighed. "Okay."

"I want a crepe." Cami said. "You think they can put some Nutella in it?"

"I'm sure they can." Gabi said, glancing over her menu again.

"What are you going to get, Gabi?" Mari asked.

"She's getting French toast with a side of bacon." A deep voice came from next to her. "Isn't that what you always get, bunny?"

"Daddy!" Mari popped out of the seat and wrapped her arms around their father.

Cami and Gabi were less enthusiastic to see him, but Gabriella was surprised he actually came. "My precious girl." He muttered, wrapping his arms around his youngest. "You are so beautiful, mija."

"I missed you daddy."

"I missed you too baby." He kissed the top of her head.

Cami scooted out of the booth to go sit next to Gabi but their dad wrapped her in a hug as well. "Hi, father." She said more annoyed than anything.

"How's my Camipillar?" Richard asked, reluctantly letting her go.

"Don't call me that." Cami said, scooting in the booth next to Gabriella.

"Somebody inherited their mothers attitude." Richard joked. Mari scooted into the booth before him.

"We didn't order yet." Gabi informed.

Richard got a good look at his oldest daughter. "How are you, bunny?"

"I'm fine dad. Happy Anniversary." Gabi said with a small smirk. "Mom is having a party, you should show up. I'm sure she'd love that."

"Never in a million years." Her father joked. "God, look at you three. You're so big."

"Look at my loose tooth, Daddy." Mari said, opening her mouth, showing him a wiggly tooth. "Rose said when it falls out, most of my baby teeth will be gone."

"Wow, baby, that's great news." Her father said, squeezing the girl next to him. "I'm so glad we're doing this. I'm starving."

"Maybe you should be around more. We eat at least three times a day." Cami said sarcastically.

Their father frowned. "I'm trying to be. I'll make more of an effort."

"Sure." Cami mumbled under her breath.

"How is school going, bunny? Finished your college applications?"

Gabriella nodded. "I got through half of them, I still need to send out more. School is alright."

"Gabi got detention." Mari said.

"Detention?" Richard asked, raising an eyebrow.

"For a whole week." Cami added with a smirk.

Gabi laughed. "Yeah, glad I'm done with it though."

"What in the world did you do to get detention for a whole week?"

Gabi giggled. "Hold on." The waitress gave them their drinks and took their orders. Gabi sipped her drink, hoping to avoid the question she put off. "Cami, how's school for you?"

"Great. I thought we were talking about detention." Cami said with a wide grin.

"Sell out." Gabi teased, nudging her sister. "I called Ms. Darbus a tyrant… I was late… my cellphone went off. But she still likes me. She put me in the musical."

"Musical? That better not interfere with your studies."

"It's not. It's going to be fun. I play an old lady." She told her dad.

"Send me the dates, I might be able to come see it." Her dad smiled.

She tried her best not to sigh. "Sure."

The waitress came out with their food. They ate and talked some more before their dad got a call and had to leave. He gave Gabriella money for food before kissing his three girls goodbye. After they finished eating, Gabriella drove Cami over to her friends for the night.

Mari sat in the back seat, looking out the window as Gabi pulled her phone out to call Troy to see if he was awake. He answered with a sleepy "Hello."

"Hey, are you up?" She asked. "I just dropped Cami off."

"You just woke me up." He admitted with a small laugh. "Let me get in the shower and I'll be ready in ten minutes."

"That's cool. We're about ten minutes away anyway." Gabi informed him. "I'll see you soon."

"Alright, bye cupcake."

Gabi hung up the phone and looked back at her sister. "We're going to pick up Troy, okay?"

"Okay." Mari said, looking over at her. "Can we go to the movies?"

"Sure, what do you want to see?" Gabi asked, putting the car into gear.

"I don't know. Something fun." Mari said. "The new one with the little people."

Gabi laughed at her description. "I think I know which one you're talking about." She glanced at her sister in the rear view mirror. "I love you, Mari."

"I love you too, Gabi." She said, looking out the window again.

"How's school going?" She asked her sister.

"It's fun. Ms. Hall is really nice. She gives easy homework." Mari explained. "I wish I had her next year too."

"Maybe you'll have her next year too or someone cooler." Gabriella shrugged her shoulders.

"What's Troy like?"

"Kind of dorky." Mariella giggled from the backseat. "You'll see in a minute." Gabriella explained as they pulled up to Troy's house.

"Are we going in there?" Mari asked, looking at the house.

"Nah, I'll just have him come out." Gabi said pulling out her cell. She dialed Troy's number and he answered after a couple seconds. "Hey, we're outside."

"Alright, be there in a minute." Troy murmured. "See you soon."

Gabriella hung up and turned back to her little sister. "Anything else special you want to do today?"

"Can we get ice cream?" Mari asked.

"You just ate breakfast Mari." Gabi said with a laugh. "Maybe, we can later."

"Hey." Troy said walking up to the car. Gabriella unlocked the car. "Hey cupcake." He greeted before looking back to her little sister. "Hey, I'm Troy."

"I'm Mari." She said with a shy smile. "Gabi, he isn't dorky."

Troy laughed. "I'm dorky?"

"I said a little dorky!" Gabi defended with a laugh. "Anyway, Mari wanted to go to a movie so we're going to watch one."

"Sweet." Troy grinned. "Let's go."

Gabriella drove as Troy talked to her little sister. She parked her car and they all got out walking in together. She bought tickets for the three of them and they were right on time. They rushed to the theatre and sat down. Gabriella sat in between Troy and her sister. Seconds after they sat down the movie started.

After watching the movie for about ten minutes, Gabi looked over at her sister. She was fully immersed in the movie. She felt a nudge to her side. She looked over at Troy. He grinned at her. He leaned over and whispered against her ear. "How was breakfast?"

Gabriella pulled back so he could see her roll her eyes. "He actually showed up, which was surprising." She whispered over to him. "She had a good time. Cami was annoyed and I was kind of annoyed too."

"Why?" He whispered back.

"Because he doesn't show up to anything…. Ever." Gabriella explained in a whisper.

"Sh." Her sister nudged her.

"Sorry." She whispered. She turned back to Troy. "We'll talk later." She whispered against his ear. She pressed a soft kiss to his earlobe. She sat back and looked at the screen. Troy's hand wandered over to her thigh. She stroked his hand gently before locking their fingers together.

Troy played with her fingers as they watched the movie. "I can't believe you said I was dorky." He whispered after a couple minutes.

She giggled, turning towards him to shush him. "I'm watching the movie." She glanced at her sister who was fully focused on the movie. She bit her lip and turned Troy's face to hers. She kissed his lips slowly. He grinned against her lips before she pulled away. She put her finger against his lips. "Later."

"Tease." He murmured, kissing her finger.

She smirked, pressing her hand against his thigh. She slowly moving her hand up his thigh and he made a soft sound, grabbing her hand. "Such a prude, TB."

"Shhh!" Mariella scolded them.

Gabi bit back her giggles and watched the rest of the movie in silence. They filed out of the theatre with Mari talking enthusiastically about the movie. She stopped suddenly. "Gabi! Let's go to the Park! I haven't been to the park since... like... in forever!"

Gabriella and Troy laughed. "If you say so, Mari." Gabi said, unlocking her car. "You up for the park, TB?"

"I suppose so." He grinned, climbing in the passengers seat.

"Let's go then." Gabi reasoned, driving up towards The Ridge. She parked at the local park where they all climbed out.

Mariella took off toward the park as Troy watched her and Gabi got a blanket out of the trunk. "What do you need a blanket for?" Troy asked.

"We went to the park two weeks ago." Gabi said with a shrug. "I don't like sitting on goose shit."

Troy chuckled. "Good point."

They walked toward the play ground and set the blanket down. Troy took a seat before she did. She took a deep breath before finding her sister with her eyes. "She's crazy."

"She's great." Troy said with a grin.

"She has a crush on you." Gabi said with a giggle.

"She's known me for three hours." Troy defended with a laugh.

"So. She's eight years old. She falls in love with everything." Gabriella smiled. "You can keep her if you want."

Troy laughed. "I'd rather keep you."

"Don't let her hear you! She'll kill me."

"You're the dorky one, cupcake." Troy grinned leaning in to kiss her.

She put her finger on his lips. "Later. I promised her I wouldn't make out the whole time."

"Yeah, right." Troy chuckled.

"Don't get a big head, TB. It's true." She grinned. "Hopefully I'll get her some ice cream, drop her off at home so we can go somewhere and make out a little bit."

"Or a lot."

"Or we can do other things rather than making out." She grinned mischievously, licking her lips.

Troy shook his head. "Stop that."

She giggled at him, hugging her arms around him. "You're cute sometimes, TB."

"Glad you think so." He murmured drily. She nuzzled her face against his arm. She bit him gently. He jumped. "Did you just bite me?"

She kissed his arm. "I like to bite."

"You're a freak, cupcake." He grinned down at her.

"I know. You'll learn to embrace it." She winked at him before, leaning against his chest. Her eyes found her sister again. She found a friend, a friend that was a boy. Gabi shifted to get comfortable as she watched her sister play with the boy.

"So, tomorrow, I'm going to hang out with my dad." Troy said casually.

"Really? What are you going to do?" She asked, glancing up at him.

"We're going to the car show. It'll be pretty cool, hopefully he'll get some inspiration for fixing up the truck so it won't look like a massive hunk of junk."

She laughed. "Wishful thinking."

"What are you doing tomorrow?" He asked her.

"I have Vocals at ten then piano after that with Mari.. Homework then Guitar. I'll pick up Cami and spend the rest of the evening in my bed watching Netflix."

"That sounds like fun," He murmured.

"Mhm," She hummed. She felt a buzzing in her pocket. "Hold on." She pulled out her phone and answered. "Hello."

"Hey, honey." Rose said into the phone.

"Hey, what's up?" She asked.

"Is Mariella near you?"

"No, but I'll go get her. Is something wrong?" She asked.

"No, Mrs. Flannigan just called to ask if she wanted to have a play date with Kassie today."

"Oh, okay. Let me go get her. We're at the park." Gabriella got up and walked over to her sister. "Hey, Do you want to go over to Kassie's Today?"

"Yeah!" Mari said excitedly.

"Okay, I'll call you when we get ready to leave." Gabi said, walking back over to Troy who was looking at his phone. "She said yeah, do you want me to call Mrs. Flannigan and ask when?"

"Sure, I'll text you the number." Rose said. "Talk to you later, love you."

"Love you too, bye." Gabriella hung up, taking a seat.

"Who was that? Mom?"

Gabriella laughed. "Yeah right. That was Rose."

"Rose?"

"She is the house keeper, nanny, and the mom who isn't my birthmother." Gabi explained, leaning over to kiss his face.

"Oh, yeah. Rose." He wrapped his arms around her again. "What'd she say?"

"We're going to get rid of Mari for a couple hours for a play date." She looked down at the phone. "Hold on, TB." She called the phone number that Rose had texted to her.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mrs. Flannigan, this is Gabriella Montez, Mariella's sister."

"oh! Hi Sweetie! I suppose Rose called you, she is such an angel."

"She is." Gabriella agreed. "She said something about a play date."

"Yeah, Kassie, really wanted to have a play date but now she's saying something about a sleepover." Mrs. Flannigan said. "If Mariella is up for a sleep over, we are more than happy to have her."

"Of course. She's walking over here, let me just ask her. Hold on."

"Sure, honey."

Gabriella pressed the phone to her chest. "Mari, sleep over at Kassie's?"

"Yes!" Mari said excitedly. She launched herself at Troy who was luckily paying attention and caught her.

"Hello, Mrs. Flannigan, Mariella would love to sleep over."

"Great!"

"We'll stop at home then head over there?"

"Sounds great! Thank you Gabriella."

"Thank you Mrs. Flannigan, see you soon." Gabriella hung up the phone. "Ready to go, kid?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Troy give me a piggy back ride." She said, walking around him, jumping on his back.

Troy chuckled. "Alright."

"Don't be bossy, Mariella." Gabi said, picking up the blanket after they stood up. She shook it off and folded it.

They walked to the car and Gabi put the blanket in the trunk. They got in. "Can I show Troy my room?" Mari asked, as Gabriella got into the car.

"You have to pack, Mari."

"So, Troy can help me." She reasoned.

"Well he can help you if he wants to." Gabi said, pulling out of the parking lot.

Mariella spoke excitedly the whole way back to the Montez house. Gabriella punched the code and drove around the corner to their house. She parked in the drive way. Mariella hopped out and ran towards the front door.

"Are you ready meet mommy?" Gabriella said sarcastically.

"Your house is huge." Troy murmured, looking up at it while he unbuckled his seatbelt.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "It's just a house. Come on, TB, before my mother kills my sister."

"Why would she do that?"

"She's in party preparation mode. Avoid at all costs." Gabi warned. Gabriella locked her card before dragging him inside. Troy looked around in awe, trying to keep up with Gabriella.

"Gabriella!" She stopped when she heard her mothers voice.

"What?" She asked, continuing to walk.

"Who is that?"

"IT's my boyfriend. We're going to go have sex so you can be a young grandma." Gabriella said sarcastically.

"No!" Troy defended. "No we're not! We're just friends I-"

"Shut up and keep walking." Gabriella said, pulling him along.

They got to Mariella's room. "This is your room?" Troy asked with a smirk.

"No!" Gabriella said, pulling out her sisters tiny suitcase from under her bed. "It's Mari's"

"Where is your room?"

"I'll show you after I get her packed up."

"Where'd she go?" Troy asked.

"The play room probably." Gabriella said, pulling out some pajamas.

"You have a playroom?"

"Two master bedrooms. My parents have one and Rose has the downstairs one. I have my own bathroom but these two share a bathroom. Two other guest rooms, A playroom, an office, Two living rooms, a dining room, kitchen, six and a half bathrooms all together."

"Jesus. What do you need six bathrooms for?"

Gabriella shrugged. "No idea."

"Man, if I knew you lived in a house like this, I would never have let you seen my house."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up, TB. You're house is great."

Gabriella stuffed socks into her suitcase as Mariella ran in with an armful of dolls. "Can you fit these in there?"

"Yes," Gabriella said with a laugh. Mariella stuffed them inside.

"I'm going to go get more!" She said excitedly, running off.

Gabi shook her head. "Are you ready to see my room?" Gabi asked, raising her eyebrows at Troy.

"Not when you look at me like that." He said wearily.

Gabriella giggled, reaching over for his hand. "Come on, TB. I won't attack you, promise."

She led him over to her room. She opened the door and twirled around. "Wow."

"What?" She asked, looking in her vanity mirror. She put some lipstick on and fixed her hair.

"It's so you."

She looked at him confused. "What do you mean?"

"It's very girly but it feels like… normal compared to the rest of the house. It just resembles you well." Troy said, taking a seat on her bed.

Gabriella walked over to her door, closing it and locking it. Gabriella pressed her finger to her lips. She climbed up on the bed with him, straddling his waist. She leaned down, kissing his lips firmly. He grinned against her lips, moving his hands up and down her bare thighs. She coaxed his mouth open with her tongue, getting a small taste of him before he pulled back from her. He rolled over, laying on top of her. She grabbed his butt pulling his hips down to hers.

Troy's hands roamed her mid section as his tongue searched her mouth. Her hands rose from his butt to the hot skin under his shirt. She thrust her hips up against his. Her fingers moved higher against his chest. She pinched his nipples between her two fingers on each hand. He released her mouth to let out a loud moan. She smirked, moving her lips along his neck. She sucked in a small patch of his skin on his neck. She ran her fingertips down his abs. She bit his neck gently, tugging at his shirt.

"Gabi! I'm ready to go!"

Gabriella pulled away from him and laid back on her bed to catch her breath. "Coming, Mari."

Troy rubbed his lips together. She looked over at him and giggled. "Oh, no."

"Oh, no what?" Troy asked, getting up suddenly.

She tried to contain her giggles. "You have lipstick all over your face." She leaned over, kissing his lips slowly. "Come on."

Troy climbed off the bed and looked in her mirror. "Oh my god, Gabs. All over my neck too."

She giggled, grabbing a makeup remover wipe. "Sorry, TB." She wiped his neck carefully before she wiped the lipstick off his face. She removed the smudges from her face too. "Ready?"

"Ready." He said, taking a deep breath. "Thank god we had a minute. I needed my boner to go away."

She giggled. "Damn. I wish we hadn't gotten interrupted."

"I'm glad we did, cupcake." He said with a small smile.

She shook her head, wrapping her arms around him. She leaned up, kissing his lips again. "Sooner we leave, sooner we can come back." She murmured.

Troy laughed, kissing her cheek. "Tell yourself that."

"I am." She said with a soft smile. "Let's go."

* * *

 **Sorry, Sorry, Sorry! Dont forget to review!**


	9. Chapter 9

Gabriella had a routine forming from last week but it was only for this week. Next week, rehearsals for the musical were starting and she was enthusiastic about Cabaret. She enjoyed theatre. The only thing she was not looking forward to was having to deal with Sharpay Evans and Ms. Darbus every single day. She at least had Troy which she was thankful for.

After dropping the girls off at school each morning, she'd meet up with Troy and they'd talk for a couple minutes until the first bell rang. At lunch, they would find somewhere secluded to talk and maybe make out a little bit if that was what the mood felt. After school, she and Troy would pick up Mari from school then pick up Cami from home so they could go do something fun or eat. She and Troy would work on their homework at Gabriella's house and then she'd take him home before dinner time.

Troy was becoming her best friend and her closest confidant. She found that no matter what she told him, he'd still want to talk to her the next day and the day after that. She felt as if she shared too much of herself sometimes but he encouraged it. He basically knew her inside and out. It was a scary thought but surprisingly, she was okay with it. Today, Rose was taking Cami and Mari to get physicals which meant, Gabriella and Troy were off the hook for the afternoon.

"Hola, TB." Gabriella greeted as she approached her car. Troy was leaning against the front end, waiting for her with a grin.

"Hola, Cupcake." He replied, standing up straight. He caught her by the waist as she walked by and kissed her lips. "What is on the agenda today?"

"Rose is taking the girls to get physicals so you and I are free." Gabriella said with a grin. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "What would you like to do after we catch up with homework?"

"We could do a little of this…." He trailed off, pressing his lips to hers slowly. His hands moved down her waist, over her butt before they rose back to her waist. "If you want."

"I definitely want." She husked, kissing his lips again. They've been keeping it PG all week since they spent most of their time with her sisters. She's been having some pent up feelings that needed to be expressed. "Is your mom home?" She asked, pulling away.

"Not sure." He answered breathlessly. "I think she's at the office."

"I'm willing to risk it." She said, biting her bottom lip. "Let's go, Bolton." She pushed herself away from him and unlocked her car. She got in the driver's seat and waited for him to climb in. She backed out of her space and got in the line of cars waiting to leave the parking lot. Troy's hand slid over her thigh. "How was school?"

"Boring." Troy replied, sitting back in the seat. "Mr. Carter is an asshole and gave half of the class lunch detention for next week. The only reason I don't have it is because I'm in the musical and I think he was terrified of Darbus."

Gabriella laughed. "I wouldn't doubt it. She's pretty scary sometimes. I'm excited to start the musical. I can't wait to hear you sing."

Troy made a face. "I'm going to beg Darbus to dub over my voice. It's bad."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "I'm sure it's not that bad Bolton."

"Well it's nothing compared to yours." He admitted, stroking her thigh with his thumb. "I forgot to ask you how your lessons went on Sunday."

She nodded. "They were good. My coach and I are working on the song I was writing in detention. It's coming out pretty good."

"You're going to have to sing it for me." He said with a grin. He kissed the side of her face. "Your hair smells like peaches today."

"New shampoo." She grinned. "I try to change it as often as possible. I don't know if that's good for my hair but I get tired of the same smell after too long."

"It smells good. You should keep this one for a while." He suggested, touching her soft hair. She turned round the corner to his house. "Mom's not home." He said, looking over at her as they pulled up.

"Good."

He watched her get out of the car before he got out himself. He grabbed their stuff and lead her to the door. He opened the door with his key and held the door open for her. She walked in, locking her car with the remote. Troy closed the door behind them. He dumped their things on the couch. "Do you want anything to drink?" Troy asked.

"Water is fine." She said, taking a step up the stairs.

"Alright." Troy walked into the kitchen. He opened the fridge to see his options. "Gab, do you want something to eat?" He asked, yelling in the direction of the living room. He didn't hear a reply. He grabbed two bottles of water and a bag of chips. "Gabs?" He asked again, walking into an empty living room.

"Up here." Her sweet voice called out from up the stairs.

Troy marched up the stairs with snacks in hand. He walked into his room to see her laying on the bed. She was looking through her phone. "What are you doing up here?"

"Laying on your bed." She said with a small smirk. "Care to join?" She asked, rolling over to her side to face him.

"I don't know, I'm scared." He said, putting down the chips carefully.

"Don't be." She said, biting her bottom lip. "Don't make me come get you."

Troy chuckled. "I kind of want to see that actually."

"Are you positive?" She asked, sitting up.

"Hold on." He said. He put the waters down on the desk as well. "Okay, I'm ready."

She shrugged, getting up. She reached behind her back and struggled with something. She stared straight at him. She smirked slightly as she turned and walked away from him to the door. She closed the door, locking it. She slipped her arms in her shirt to pull off her bra. She held it in her hands as she walked over to him. She placed her lips against his in a slow kiss. She set the bra behind him on the desk.

Gabriella pulled away from him and went to his window. She drew the blinds down so there was very little light in the room. She walked over to him again and ran her fingers under his shirt. She pressed a soft kiss to his lips before lifting his shirt over his head. His hands found her hips as she kissed him again. She took his hands and lifted them up her torso. "Take it off Troy." She whispered against his lips.

He gulped before his shaky hands elevated her shirt. He lifted the shirt over her head only to find her bare chest. He felt like the wind was knocked out of him. All of the blood rushed to the area between his legs. His heart was beating so loudly he was sure it was echoing in the silent room. He was thankful she kissed him again to take his mind off of her bare chest and his inexperience.

She ran her fingers through his hair. She tilted her head as her tongue brushed his lips. He parted his lips, brushing her tongue with his. Troy's anxieties disappeared when she let out a soft noise in between kisses. He lifted her by her thighs which she graciously wrapped around him. He took two steps before he climbed on his bed. She released him, bouncing against the bed under him. She smiled at him as he hovered over her.

"You are so, so beautiful." Troy murmured, gazing at Gabriella.

She bit her lip, wrapping her legs around him again. She pulled his hips down to meet hers. She grinned when she felt his hard on pressed against her leg. She kissed down the side of his neck to his chest before she kissed his lips. Troy kissed her lips slowly, leaving a trail of kisses down to her neck. She ran her fingers up and down his back slowly. He sat up slowly, moving his hands from his hips to her chest. He caressed her bare chest gently, brushing his thumbs against her nipples.

She let out a quiet moan, flicking her eyes up to look at him. He gazed curiously at her chest. He pressed his hands against the bed on both sides of her, leaning down to kiss her lips. He pulled away from her lips to kiss down her sternum. She bit down on her bottom lip, as her fingers found his hair. She scratched his scalp lightly. His tongue flicked over her nipple.

"Troy." She let out a breathless moan.

His mouth covered her nipple briefly before making its way over to the other one. He released the other nipple to kiss his way down her stomach. He made his way back up to her mouth, kissing it fiercely as he rolled them over. Gabriella straddled his lap with a small smile on her lips. She took the moment to look down at Troy who was flushed, breathing heavily.

She was debating on whether or not to just yank his pants off. The last thing she wanted was for him to regret being with her. She rubbed his chest lightly. "I'm going to try something." She said softly. "You can tell me to stop anytime." She said slowly, making sure he understood. "I'm going to take your pants off, okay?"

"Okay." He said breathlessly. He watched her pull his jeans off of his legs before she climbed on top of him again. They were both very aware of his arousal. She took a seat on his thighs letting his arousal press between the both of them as she leaned down to kiss him.

Her fingers stroked the muscles on his chest, working their way down his torso. She pressed her lips against his slowly. His hands rested on her thighs. She flicked her tongue in his mouth when he briefly parted his lips. She gently pulled back the waist band of his boxers, freeing his erection from its constraints.

He let out a soft groan as her soft hand wrapped around the base of his erection. She stroked him slowly as she kissed her way down to his neck. Troy placed his hands on her hips, trying to get a grip or some type of leverage. "Gabriella." He said quietly, asking for her attention.

She pulled her lips away from his neck and stopped her motions. She studied his face for a moment before asking softly. "Do you want me to stop?"

"God, no." He murmured, quietly. He put his hand on the back of her neck, to guide her face back to his.

She captured his lips in a slow kiss, using her wrist to run her palm against his length. She adjusted her grip, continuing the stroking motions. She kissed his bottom lip softly before murmuring against his lips, "You're so big, Troy."

He let out a pleasure filled moan, as she stroked him quicker. "Fuck, Gabriella."

She gave him a smirk, gripping him a little tighter. "I want you to cum, Troy." She husked, staring into his beautiful blue eyes.

He shut his eyelids instantly. It only took two strokes before he thrust his hips up with a shaky groan and release himself against his stomach. Her hand continued to stroke, milking all he had to offer. She crawled off of him causing his eyes to open instantly. She bent over, pulling his shirt over her head before she walked out the door.

Troy sat up, leaning against his elbows. He wasn't too sure what to feel at the moment. He tried to stay as still as possible to prevent any dripping from his stomach. Just as a little bit of regret started to fill his mind, She came back in with a washcloth. She climbed on top of him again and cleaned off his stomach.

He watched her curiously, wondering what she was going to say or do next. She took her time, cleaning off his stomach. She made sure he wasn't sticky and she didn't miss any mess. She tucked his hardness back into his boxers before she got up again. She put the washcloth in his hamper before she left to wash her hands again.

She crawled back into his bed, wrapping her arms around his middle. He didn't say a word; he just stroked the back of her head gently. "Are you okay?" She asked softly.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead gently. "I'm okay, Are you okay?"

She nodded with a small smile. "I'm okay." Her arm that was resting along his abdomen reached over for his free hand. She laced her fingers in between his. "Cake or ice cream?" She asked randomly.

"Depends on the cake." He replied, "I don't like chocolate cake."

"Me either, it's usually dry. I like ice cream better." She shared.

"What is your favorite kind of ice cream?"

"Strawberry." She said, turning slightly so she could look at his face. "You?"

"Coffee." He said with a small smile.

"How many cigarettes do you smoke a day?"

Troy smiled slightly. "I don't smoke anymore. I just started to piss my dad off. I only bought one pack. I didn't even make it through half of it before I threw it away. Cigarettes are gross."

She smiled. "I'm glad you stopped. You smell much better now."

"Have you ever smoked a cigarette?"

She smirked. "I've tried it, along with weed. Smoking is not my thing. I like drinking better."

"I don't think I'm going to start drinking." He decided. "I'm very… petrified of drunk driving. I'm scared of a lot of things actually."

"Like what?" She softened, placing a kiss on his chest.

He sighed. "Hurting, regret, disappointment, drunk driving, the ocean, fire…" He trailed off. "I know it sounds really ridiculous."

She squeezed him gently. "It doesn't, I promise. I'm terrified of leaving my sisters here when I go off to college."

"How come?" He asked, rubbing her scalp with his fingertips.

"I hate being at home. My mom always drags us out to some type of event. She doesn't care about me and I know that. Mari is eight and I don't want her to feel abandoned the way I did. My dad is never around and my mom doesn't care. I know if it weren't for school activities then I would probably have ran my life into the ground and I don't want Cami to do that." Gabriella shared with a small sigh. "Cami is beautiful and brilliant and I don't want her to get caught up into things that aren't good for her. I wish I could take them and Rose with me."

"I think, with Rose, they will be fine." Troy said softly. "You turned out okay."

Gabriella couldn't help but laugh. "I guess so."

"I don't mean that you're just okay…. I just-"

"I know what you mean, TB." She leaned over and kissed his face. "I'm sure they'll be fine. I'm just worried about them."

"You're a great sibling, cupcake."

"Speaking of cupcakes…. I think we should start on our homework." Gabriella said, sitting up.

"That was the plan until you jumped me." Troy teased, sitting up as well. "I'll be right back."

She admired his behind as he walked out of his room. Gabriella slid on the floor and grabbed her backpack. She pulled out her massive Trig book and opened it to the correct page. She shuffled through her backpack for a piece of paper and her favorite pencil.

She hummed quietly to herself as she got started on her homework. Troy took a while doing whatever he was doing. She was halfway done with math as he walked back in. "Sorry." He apologized, climbing on his bed. He pulled out his homework and started working on it silently as well.

Gabriella zipped her things in her backpack a half hour later. She sped through her homework since they were both silent and focused. Troy was still working on his on his bed. She got up to stretch her legs. She watched him focus on his algebra problem and she bit her lip.

He was handsome and kind. He liked her and he sure could kiss. She liked him too, maybe a little too much for her comfort. She was starting to get attached and it's barely been three weeks since they started hanging out. It was scary for her. Every boy she ever liked eventually got bored with her. With Troy, she didn't think she could take that kind of hurt with a grain of salt like she did all the other times.

"All done?" Troy asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah." She said softly. "I think I'm going to head home."

He frowned a bit. "Are you okay?"

She gave him a soft smile. "Yeah, I'm just kind of tired."

"Don't forget to eat dinner and breakfast." He teased, pushing his things to the side. He got up and smoothed his arms around her waist.

She wrapped her arms around him and leaned against his chest. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He pressed a kiss to her head. "I'll make you lunch tomorrow."

She smiled against his bare chest. "Should I bring something?"

He shook his head. "Just your beautiful self." He lifted her chin and brushed his fingers along her neck. She leaned up, kissing his lips softly. "Let me put pants on and I'll walk you to your car."

She smiled slightly. "I guess I should get dressed…." She said, glancing over at her bra that was laying on his desk. She pulled away from him and lifted his shirt over her head. She tossed it back at him before she picked up her bra.

She clipped her bra on and fixed it before she bent down and picked up the shirt she was wearing. She put it on and turned back to Troy. He was dressed and holding her backpack. "Do you have everything?"

"I think so." She replied, looking around his room. She felt the butterflies bubble up at the touch of his hand. She lead him out of the house and to her car. She pulled her keys out and unlocked the car. Troy put her backpack in the back seat, closing the door after him. He took her hands again and pulled her close. He kissed her lips without another word.

She put her hands on his neck, kissing his firm lips. Troy's hands rest on her waist as he pressed soft kisses to her lips. "I'll see you tomorrow." He said softly as he pulled away.

She smiled softly. "See you, TB." She murmured, running her fingers through his hair before pulling away. She turned, walking around to climb in her vehicle and head home.

* * *

 **I had the day off cause i'm leaving for the weekend. I thought i'd give y'all an update before i left. Hope you enjoy. Don't forget to review!**


	10. Chapter 10

After Gabriella dropped her sisters off at school the next morning, she was in search of Troy Bolton. He always sought her out and she felt like she should find him every once in a while. He had weeks of investigating where she was most of the time, she had no idea where he liked to hang out other than the garden. That was her first stop.

She opened the doors and didn't find him. She looked beyond the lush greenery and the blossoming buds and came up empty. She sighed and checked her watch. She was going to be late for class if she didn't leave now. She cursed to herself and ran down the stairs. She pushed through the doors and turned the corner heading towards the stairs.

She felt a strong hand on her arm stopping her legs. "What?" She asked, turning to look to see who it was.

Owen smiled at her. "Where are you off too so fast?"

"Class?" She said. "I don't have time for this. I have to go."

"Wait!" Owen asked, holding onto her arm. "You going to the party tomorrow?"

"No." She said, pulling her arm away. "I have to go."

She made quick work rushing down the stairs greeting friends with a breathless hello as she walked by. The bell rang while she was still down the hall from Darbus' classroom. She rushed inside but was stopped by Darbus who looked at her with a curious look.

"Ah, Ms. Montez. I thought we were over our tardiness binge. I see you need lunch detention to remind you why we don't like to be tardy."

"Really?" Gabriella asked, annoyed. "I was two seconds late! I ran all the way from the third floor!"

"We can make it for all next week."

Gabriella closed her eyes briefly and shut her mouth. She walked to her seat and slumped down in defeat. She couldn't believe this. She didn't even want to look at Troy. She just wanted to go home and lay in her bed and possibly kill Owen for giving her yet another detention. Anger hit her, straight in the face. She was pissed off.

Darbus was an asshole who played favorites. Owen was just an inconvenience to her life. She wanted to take the reins. She wanted to be free and in control for once in her life. She took a deep breath and stood up. She grabbed her backpack and turned to walk out the door.

"Excuse me, Miss Montez." Darbus started.

Gabriella walked out the door and didn't look back. She took off running. She ran up the stairs and to the place she'd been previously. She stopped to take a breath once she hit the double doors. She pushed her way through and walked up the last set of stairs. She took a seat on the bench and sighed.

It felt so good to get out of class. It felt so good to just ignore the annoying part of herself that wants to be responsible all of the time. She felt herself smile. With that smile, she hummed the tune of an unfinished song that was stuck in her head. She pulled out her lyric book quickly and scribbled the thoughts in her head.

She heard the bell ring that signaled homeroom was over. She sighed, looking at her book. Did she really have to go to Trig? She supposed not. She was ready to get out of the school and go drive around for the day. Heaven knows she wasn't going home. She packed her book and turned quickly when the doors opened.

"Cupcake?"

She smiled instantly before she turned around to see him. "What are you doing up here, TB?" She asked softly as she watched his head come up the stairs.

He smiled when he noticed her sitting on the bench. "More like, what are you doing up here, Gabriella Montez?"

She turned on the bench to face him. "Just hanging out." She said with a shrug.

Troy chuckled, taking a couple steps forward. "Where were you this morning?"

"Looking for you." She explained, looking up at him. "I came up here but then the bell rang and I ran down stairs. Owen caught me and asked if I was going to the party tonight and I was two seconds away from kicking him in the balls. Then I went to Darbus got detention and left."

He shook his head at her. "Come here." He reached his arms out for her. She got up and wrapped her arms around him. "You're missing Trig, you know that right?"

"I'm aware." She hummed, snuggling her face into his chest. "Monday's suck."

"I agree." He brushed her hair back and kissed the top of her head. "Are you going to go to class today?"

"I haven't decided yet. I feel content right here, I was writing my song and now you're here. I don't want to go to class. I just want to be in New York." She sighed. "I need to talk to my dad."

"Why?" He asked curiously, pulling back to look at her face.

"I know my mother is not on my side. I can hopefully persuade my dad into flying me over there to make open auditions that are coming up in a couple weeks. It's for a spring and summer program for freshman." Her eyes lit up. "It's going to be amazing. All music majors are composing pieces that are going to be put together for a freshman showcase at the beginning of the fall semester."

"That's such an amazing opportunity." Troy said with a grin. He loved the way her eyes lit up when she spoke with passion. That's what hooked him in when she spoke last year. "What do you think he'll say?"

"I'm sure he's going to hate the idea. That is when I'm going to pull the abandonment card and yadda yadda." She said, waving her hand. "I just want to be free Troy. I want to start my life. I-" She paused, to look at his face. "When I'm hanging out with you, I'm the happiest I've been in years."

She reached over for his hands. He laced his fingers with hers. "I feel the same." He said, squeezing her hand. "I will be here for you, every step of the way."

She leaned up and kissed his lips once. "Do you want to get out of here?"

"Hell yeah." Troy said, getting up, pulling her to him. She kissed his lips firmly. He cupped the back of her head, keeping her close. His tongue brushed her bottom lip, waiting for her to part her lips so he could get a quick taste.

She pulled away slowly, turning to pick up her backpack. "Where to first, TB?" She walked, descending down the stairs.

He followed in quick pursuit. "I don't know. I still have our lunch so whenever you're hungry we can eat."

"Sounds good to me. I would say let's go back to my house but my mother is there and Rose." She sighed.

"My mom stayed home sick so she'll be home." Troy said with a half smile.

"That's okay." She hummed, as she was stopped just behind the double doors that lead to the hallway. "I wish I was in New York already. There's millions of things to do in the city and tons of places that you can drive to in a matter of hours. We have nothing here."

"Sure we do." Troy said with a wide grin. "I think we could find something to do."

"I think I want to stop by Music World first." She said, lacing their fingers together.

"Your wish is my command." He kissed her fingers. "Run on three."

She grinned. "Let's go."

"One."

"Two."

"Three." Troy pushed open the doors and took off. Gabriella ran behind, giggling as he tugged her along. They almost stumbled down the stairs but they quickly caught themselves. "Shh." Troy warned as they laughed together. They ran down the second hall way to the next set of stairs that lead straight to the student parking lot.

She pushed the doors open before she pulled out her keys. She unlocked her car just before they hopped in. She turned the key in the ignition and drove out of the parking lot. Troy let out a breath once they were away from the school. He reached over to rest his hand on her thigh.

Gabriella didn't mind. She just drove toward downtown Albuquerque- the closest feeling of New York in the small bustling city. "Music world, TB?" She asked, glancing over at him.

"Anywhere with you." He said honestly. He grinned squeezing her thigh gently. "Are you going to sing me a song?"

"I might." She said with a small grin. "Are you going to sing with me?"

Troy laughed. "Not a chance in hell."

She laughed then pouted. "Come on, TB. I know you got some vocals in there somewhere."

"After I heard you sing, I am never singing in front of you."

"Never?"

"Never."

She pouted again. "Don't say never. I'll get you to sing if it's the last thing I do."

"If you say so, cupcake."

"I do say so. Don't doubt me. I will do it." She said seriously. "We can do some vocal warm ups."

"Go ahead." Troy watched, amused.

Gabriella started making sounds with her mouth and throat. Troy watched her, intrigued. "Your voice is an instrument. It is also like your body. For Basketball you had to warm up your body to play your best. You exercise and continually make it stronger. You also need that for your voice." She informed, continuing to warm up her voice.

"You're so funny." Troy said with an amused smile.

"Come on, do it with me." She said with a grin.

"No, I'm okay." Troy chuckled.

"Just one. We can do tongue twisters." She offered.

Troy laughed, shaking his head. "I'll only do tongue twisters if my tongue is in your mouth."

Gabriella's eyebrows rose. "Oh yeah?" She smirked. "What about if your tongue was somewhere else?"

Troy's face flushed as he glanced at her. He turned his head, looking away from her. He looked out the window and scratched the back of his neck. The last moments in the car were awkwardly silent. Gabriella turned into a shopping mall and parked. She grabbed her small wallet and shoved it into her pocket before climbing out of the car. She locked the door after Troy got out. She waited for him and connected their hands as they turned to walk in the store.

Gabriella grinned as she saw the instruments. Music world was like her own personal heaven. It was her favorite store and she wished that she could buy one of everything. She dragged him straight to the pianos. She saw the grand piano sitting in the middle of the store. Her breath caught. It was simply amazing.

"I can't wait to live in a high rise penthouse in New York City. My walls are going to be windows so I can soak in the city from every angle of the apartment." Gabriella smiled, turning to Troy. "I don't want it all white and pristine. I want it homely and warm. I want it to feel like Christmas all year around, ya know? And in the middle of our living room, I want one of these babies." She gestured to the large piano.

Troy gave her a small smile. "Sounds perfect."

"I'll be a successful artist. Then I'll open my own label. That's my ultimate goal. I want to write and produce music. I want to perform and go on tour." She looked over at him with stars in her eyes. "Can you imagine?"

Troy nodded, brushing her hair back. "You should teach me how to play a guitar."

"Really?" She asked, looking at him. "You'd be interested in that?"

"Of course, cupcake. I don't know how good I would be." Troy looked around. "Let's start lesson number one right now." He took her over to the guitar section.

Gabi laughed. "Yes, lets." She picked up an acoustic and put the shoulder strap on him. She picked up another and put it on herself. "This is a guitar."

"No shit, cupcake."

She rolled her eyes. She adjusted her fingers and looked at him. "Copy me." She murmured. She strummed, playing a song she was working on. She looked up at Troy who just looked lost. She giggled and stopped playing. "I was kidding." She took the guitar off her and put it back.

"We can have a one on one at my house later." She smirked, taking the guitar off of him.

Troy ignored her comment and looked around the store. "These guitars are beautiful."

"Right?" She sighed. "I love acoustic guitars. I love the different looks from the wood and ugh." She grinned. "If I could marry music, I would."

Troy chuckled. "You're so cute, Cupcake." He kissed the top of her head. "Are you going to get anything?"

"I haven't decided yet." She collected his hand and lead him around the store again.

Troy wandered off into the drum section. He always wanted a drum set, mostly to just make noise. He took a seat at an electronic drum set and put the headphones over his ears. He tapped the snare curiously. His face lit up when he heard the sound come through the headphones. He took out the sticks and started wailing on the drum set. He heard the drums and symbols clash in his ears.

Gabriella stopped at the amplifiers. She was earnest to learn about electric instruments. She reminded herself to ask her guitar instructor about it, maybe even take him down here so he could give her an in depth lesson. She looked around for Troy but couldn't find him near. She swore he was right behind her. She turned the corner and saw him. He was sitting on a stool in front of a drum set beating away on the instrument silently. She couldn't help but giggle. He was honestly the cutest boy she's ever hung out with.

She watched him for a minute before walking over there. She took the head phones off his head and put them on. He stopped abruptly before he saw who was behind him. He grinned before starting to play again. Gabriella heard a burst of noise in her ears and made a face at Troy. He laughed and continued to clash on the symbols. She laughed reaching over to stop his sticks. He stopped, standing up to take the head phones off of her and put them back into place.

"That was interesting, TB." She commented, taking his hand.

He smiled. "I want one of those. I'm not very musically inclined though."

"You can always learn." She reminded him. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yep."

"I think I want to stop by my dad's office while were downtown. I don't know how long it'll take." She hummed leading him out of the store. "I probably get kicked out cause he's in a meeting or something."

"We can go, I'll just wait in the car." He told her, twirling her around as they got to the car. He held her hips to stop her before pressing his lips against hers. She smiled against his lips, holding onto the back of his head.

She unlocked the car as she kissed him again. He pulled the door open for her after he pulled away. "Thank you." She grinned, smacking his behind as he walked away from her.

Troy laughed, walking around to get settled in the passenger seat.

Five minutes later, they pulled up to a tall building. Gabriella parked out front and looked over to Troy. "This is a twenty minute loading zone. If I'm not back in fifteen minutes, call me." She told him, leaning over to give him a kiss. "I'll be right back."

"I'll be right here." He grinned, pulling out his phone.

Gabriella got out of the car and walked into the building. She remembered the building quite well. She hadn't been there in a couple years but not much has changed. She walked over to the elevator and hit the button to the fifth floor. She scooted over for a couple of men in business suits holding their briefcases and coffee. She stood quietly, listening to them talk about quarterly figures and post-meeting meetings. She was glad she didn't have a mind for business.

The elevator opened to the fifth floor and she walked out. His secretary was not at her desk. She decided to walk back towards his office. She stopped for a moment to look around. She frowned. The floor was practically empty. She decided to push open the door to his office to see if he was actually in or not.

She froze immediately. She covered her mouth watching her father thrust into some blonde woman who was bent over his desk. "Aw, yeah." Her father groaned with his eyes closed. He had a fistful of the womans dress in his hands. Gabriella's stomach turned. She was in shock. She couldn't turn around and run out like she wanted to.

The lady that her father was fucking suddenly turned around. "Oh my god." Gabriella let out. Mrs. Derby Evans opened her eyes suddenly, pushing Gabriella's father off of her. Her father scrambled to pulled up his pants that were around his ankles. "Oh my fucking god!"

"Bunny-"

"Don't call me that! Not after I just watch you fuck Mrs. Evans on your desk!" She was sure she was going to be sick.

"Gabriella…"Her father pleaded. "Please, your mothe-"

Gabriella rubbed her face slowly. "I'm not going to tell her… if that's what you want to know." She interrupted.

"Oh, Thank goodness." Mrs. Evans said, smoothing out her dress.

"Why aren't you at school?" Her father asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why are you fucking Sharpay's mom?" She countered. She shook her head quickly. "I need to go before I throw up all over the both of you. I'll call you later. We have some things we need to discuss… and you better answer."

She turned and walked back to the elevator. "This day has officially just gotten worse." She murmured to herself, rubbing her forehead. She rode the elevator down and walked out to her car where Troy was waiting. She climbed in the car and looked over at Troy.

"Are you okay? You look kind of pale…"

She shook her head. "I don't know." She said, with a shrug. "I want to lay down."

"You think we can sneak into your room?" He asked, reaching over for her hand.

"I guess we can try." She murmured, squeezing Troy's hand tightly, not letting go the rest of the drive to The Ridge.

* * *

 **Lol Don't forget to review!**


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